Eddie won’t shuffle pack for opener
ENGLAND’S new era could look decidedly familiar when Eddie Jones sends his team out in Paris on Sunday. He has changed his squad, but the head coach might not change his team much.
There was great fanfare last week when the Australian announced a Six Nations squad featuring eight uncapped players, suggesting an overhaul was in the offing. But England were youthful already, having fielded the youngest ever line-up in a World Cup final, so there is no need for overzealous experimentation with the selection, which will be confirmed on Friday, for the championship opener.
Nevertheless, there are areas of intrigue as the training camp continues in the Algarve.
Once again, attention will be focused on the 10-12 axis, which was a moveable feast in Japan. Owen Farrell occupied the fly-half place for the quarter-final win over Australia, but reverted to inside centre for the semi-final to accommodate the return of George Ford at No 10.
That combination worked so well in the demolition of the All Blacks that Jones persisted with it for the final, only for England to come horribly unstuck against South Africa. He has since confessed that he should have moved Farrell back to the primary playmaker position and switched Ford to a so- called ‘finisher’ role, but that doesn’t mean he is planning such a move against France.
It may be that this horses-forcourses approach continues, in relation to the team’s creative hub. But for a potentially close encounter in Paris, England will need all the experience and decision-making nous at their disposal, so it surely makes sense to pair Ford and Farrell again, with Manu Tuilagi at outside centre.
That prospect is made more likely by the enforced absence of Henry Slade, as the left-footed Chief was the other leading midfield option involved in the World Cup rotation process. Jonathan Joseph is also available as a contender in the wider channel, but Tuilagi is likely to be preferred, despite a shortage of recent game-time.
Ollie Devoto’s recall gives England a pedigree alternative at No 12, but it would be a leap to imagine him claiming a starting spot.
Jones has not picked a specialist No 8 to fill the void left by Billy
Vunipola’s removal due to yet another arm fracture, so there is significant interest in the identity of the stand-in — both in England and in France.
Tom Curry has already demonstrated his versatility so the Sale flanker, an openside who operated at blindside during the World Cup, is a candidate to shift to the base of the scrum, although there are loud calls for Saracens’ rising rookie Ben Earl to be brought straight in there.
Elsewhere up front, there may be a degree of stability in the choice of props and locks, but there should be some consideration given to the pecking order at hooker. While Jamie George is a Lion and a key man in the England pack, Luke Cowan-Dickie has delivered a series of thunderous displays for Exeter in recent weeks. On form, he would be preferred, but Jones takes evidence from the club game with a pinch of salt, so George is poised to resume where he left off in the Far East.
From the coal face to the wide open spaces, the back-three unit warrants scrutiny too. Expect Elliot Daly, Jonny May and Anthony Watson to claim the starting places, but where they are picked is the thorny issue.
Jones has steadfastly defended Daly’s contributions at full back, but he has done his best work for England on the left flank. Watson would be better deployed as the last line of defence, but the man in charge does not yield to the prevailing view, so don’t count on a reshuffle.
There is a case for tinkering, but certainly not for an overhaul. Sunday’s fixture in Paris poses a grave danger to England’s title ambitions, so this is no time to be thinking ahead to 2023. It is a time to show the best available hand, play with short-term objectives in mind and dodge an ambush.