ENGLAND WIN IT 9-6
Eddie’s men rule the roost in dream XV
IMAGINE if the Lions concept was halved, with Ireland and Scotland absent, and the red and white factions remaining. As Wales and England prepare to lock horns again, what would a composite XV look like?
For this fantasy selection, availability and fitness is not a factor. This column has assessed the candidates and the result is a 9-6 win for England — a result they would gladly accept on Saturday.
If one position sums up the selector’s dilemma, it is at No 8. Is it Taulupe Faletau or Billy Vunipola? Drum roll — both. The two of them are world-class and have to play.
The cop-out solution is for Faletau to operate at blindside flanker, with the heavier Vunipola at the base of the scrum. Throw the electric Justin Tipuric into the backrow mix and the trio would take some stopping.
Rhys Webb is off-limits to Wales as he is playing for Toulon, but the suspicion is that he will end up appearing at the World Cup. He shades scrum-half over Ben Youngs.
Much of the team picks itself. The English props Mako Vunipola and Kyle Sinckler are both Lions, adept in the tight and the loose.
Jamie George is a fraction ahead of Ken Owens, as he was with the Lions. The lock pair from that tour, Alun Wyn Jones and Maro Itoje, proved they can function in tandem, although Courtney Lawes is a challenger. Owen Farrell is at 10 and few would argue with a centre pairing of Jonathan Davies and Manu Tuilagi.
Back three is trickier. George North has the pedigree but not the form. Jonny May is a shoo-in, and Elliot Daly is too classy a runner to leave out, but he plays wing — leaving No 15 to Liam Williams.