All set for Arundell to explode

ITALY will feel the full, devastating force of “special” Henry Arundell when England unleash him at Twickenham.

Attack coach Nick Evans insists the “uncoachable” London Irish star is ready to explode his way back onto the Test stage having played just half an hour of Premiership rugby since damaging his foot in October.

Arundell, 20, has been on fire in training according to Evans, drafted into the set-up by Steve Borthwick from Harlequins for the Six Nations.

The youngster has been a frustrated onlooker since his hopes of building on his sensational performances in Australia during the summer were wrecked by injury.

Arundell will make his long-awaited return from the bench today and Evans expects the lightning quick, scintillating try scorer to get back into the fast lane and help England’s Six Nations campaign spark into life.

He says: “Henry is special, so special. I love watching him train. Any time he gets the ball he looks like he will break a tackle. He reacts on instinct. When he gets the opportunity it’s all about him getting space and creating as many one v ones for him. He has just come back from an injury but he has certainly taken his club form to here. It is exciting to see him in training and hopefully he will get an opportunity against Italy and we will try to give him the ball as much as we can.

“It’s like all these quality players, they’re probably uncoachable in terms of how they feel the game and the way they react to certain situations and Henry is part of that. The one v one...it’s something he works really hard on and it’s a super strength of his. Most importantly we want to give him confidence to go out there and show what he does at club level and what he’s about.

“We will add a layer on the things we feel he can improve but importantly

go out there and show us why you are here in the first place.”

England will hope the decision to stick Owen Farrell back at ten and demote Marcus Smith to the bench pays off.

Steve Borthwick’s new era needs a victory today after the defeat by Scotland, and nothing other than a convincing victory over a team they have never lost to will do.

Evans is adamant the Smith-Farrell axis will be able to combine again in the same team in the future but is more concerned with how the team performs against Italy.

England’s defence will also need to be vastly better than it was against Scotland where they shipped four tries in the 29-23 loss and new coach Kevin Sinfield has been putting them through extra hard yards in that area of the game.

Italy showed what they can do in attack in the tight defeat to France and scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet promises Twickenham fans they can expect more aggression in defence today.

Van Poortvliet said: “We are trying to integrate a new system and we’ve had a big focus on it since last weekend. We want to have an aggressive ‘D’. Some of us have worked with Kev in the past and knows how he wants the system working but others haven’t so it will take longer for them.

“We had a few blips against Scotland and there were too many missed tackles. I slipped off a few myself. We’ve been working very hard and the fans will see a big improvement.

“Italy are really improving and it shows in their results. We saw areas last week where France let them get into the games. We have to impose ourselves on things.

“The result is the most important thing this weekend but we want to also put in a performance the fans will enjoy.”

Borthwick believes Ollie Lawrence is primed and ready to fulfil his explosive potential. The 23-year-old, who has thrived since joining Bath following Worcester Warriors’ demise, wins his eighth cap today and Borthwick claims: “He is a quiet and humble young man. He has been through a really challenging time at a club which no longer exists, then having to move into a new environment and new team.

“He is a determined lad who is excited about being part of this England set-up. He is a really talented player who can defend very well and he can pass and distribute.

“I’ve seen somebody who is trying to grab this opportunity with both hands, be the best he can and there is a lot of growth in him. He is quick and is powerful, and will get better in that regard.”