Jones rolls dice and prays his back three will not be exposed
Loading his bench with forwards is a calculated risk for England coach, as he plans for tough day
England’s rookie back-row forward, Ben Earl, who only has 13 minutes of Test action to his name, could be thrust into action as a makeshift wing if Eddie Jones’s gamble of going with a six-two split on the bench backfires on him. It is a huge call for any forward to be expected to fill such a role, let alone one who is so inexperienced.
Jones has opted to once again load his bench with forwards in anticipation of a hard-nosed battle up front in difficult weather conditions. But the downside is that England could be exposed were they to suffer injuries in their back line, particularly at the rear, as Ireland have two of the finest kickers in world rugby in Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton.
England only have one threequarter player among the replacements, in Exeter’s Henry Slade, who can play full-back in extremis – but if he were required to deputise for the injury-prone Manu Tuilagi, then England would be left short in the rear field.
The six-two split on the bench is rarely used for that very reason. South Africa employed it to telling effect against England in the World Cup final in Japan and Jones adopted it for the storm-ravaged game at Murrayfield a fortnight ago. That he has gone for it again indicates that he wants to take Ireland on at source. It also shows how impressed he has been with Earl, the 22-year-old having eclipsed Lewis Ludlam in the selection rankings.
“Ben is on the rise at the moment,” said Jones. “Lewis has probably flattened out a little bit, but that’s common with young players. Ben gives that dynamism. He’s that hybrid type player who can play back row with pace and skill but also play in the back line with pace and skill. His debut was very positive.”
Jones insists that his players are adaptable to any situation and, for several of them, to any position. That criteria applies to Jonathan Joseph, who will celebrate his 50th cap in unfamiliar surroundings on the wing, where he starts for the first time. The Bath centre has only two appearances in that position, both times as a replacement, as Jones opts for what he perceives to be Test-match class over specialist knowledge.
Ollie Thorley, the Gloucester wing, has been training with the squad but has been released back for Premiership duty. Jones does have injuries to consider, with both Jack Nowell and Anthony Watson unavailable. The same appeared to apply to Northampton full-back, George Furbank, who played against France and Scotland, but who was considered “not quite right”, due to a chronic hip and groin problem. Yet Furbank is still the designated reserve were there to be any late mishaps prior to kick-off. As it is, Jones has put his faith in the quality of Joseph and Elliot Daly, who had moved back to wing with Furbank’s arrival on the scene, although many consider his best position to be outside centre.
“If you look at the amount of possession we are going to get at the weekend, 40 per cent is going to be from structured play, where people have set positions, and 60 per cent or more is going to be from unstructured, where they don’t have set positions,” said Jones. “Therefore we are looking at picking the best players. JJ [Joseph] is one of our best defenders in space, one of the best I’ve coached. His ability to read the situation, to know when to close, when not to, is outstanding.
“He is also competent under the high ball, is a great chop tackler and has great running skills. With the resources we have he’s the best guy for that spot. Thorley has still got some work to do, but we’re in the process of getting him ready to play Test rugby.”
Jones has backed his forward-loaded strategy, noting that the midwinter weather conditions of the Six Nations has shaped his hand. “The six-two split is to do with the Six Nations,” said Jones. “There was some really good rugby in the World Cup and we played some really good rugby, but we got caught in the first game against France assuming that style was going to continue. The tournament’s gone on and the contest is hard, there’s less space and the conditions are difficult so six-two suits us.”