Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Mako must fight to win back his place
England coaches insist they will not recall prop forward on reputation alone
MAKO Vunipola has been warned that he must fight to reclaim his front-row spot as England face the first true test of the squad cohesion carefully constructed for their pursuit of the World Cup.
Vunipola has recovered from a hamstring injury and, along with wing Jack Nowell, who has trained fully following a summer spent overcoming ankle surgery, is expected to be available for next Saturday’s clash with Argentina in Tokyo.
Their return will give Eddie Jones a fully-fit 31-man squad from which to select, although Piers Francis’ citing for a dangerous tackle against the United States could reduce that number for disciplinary reasons.
A date for Francis’ hearing has yet to be set, but it will take place in Tokyo where the centre is likely to be hit with a three-week suspension, potentially ending his tournament.
As the game’s foremost loosehead prop, Vunipola would be among the first names on the team-sheet, but with Joe Marler and Ellis Genge having performed well against Tonga and the USA in his absence, attack coach Scott Wisemantel insists his selection is in no way a forgone conclusion.
“This puts a test on togetherness, but togetherness is one of our themes and the players acknowledge it, they openly talk about it,” said Wisemantel. “It’s a team of 31. Socially they hang out and then when they’re on the field they compete and they compete hard.
“Mako’s got to compete. If we’re going to be consistent with the team of 31 and the mantra of it, you have to fight to get in. We know what he can do. He has a proven track record.”
EDDIE Jones has signalled a ceasefire in his feud with World Rugby after praising its success in raising the standards of tier-two nations competing at the World Cup in Japan.
England have launched their group campaign with comfortable bonus-point wins over Tonga and the United States, the two lesser teams in a pool that also contains Argentina and France.
But while both victories were secured with minimal fuss, they were notable for the stubborn resistance offered by the underdogs, which continued a theme evident so far at Japan 2019.
For the first time in nine instalments of the World Cup, no team scored 50 points in a match in the opening week, ending the blight of landslide wins against smaller nations that have scarred previous tournaments.
Jones has been critical of World Rugby during the summer, describing it as ‘Big Brother’ on one occasion, but he has been impressed by the work put into closing the gap.
“You’re seeing the tier-two countries much better physically prepared,” England’s head coach said.
“We’ve played against Tonga and America now and both of them had big, physical packs.
“They’re fitter than they ever have been and that’s a great thing for the World Cup, because we’ve got these tier-two countries fighting hard and it’s producing some great rugby.
“It’s a credit to World Rugby. They don’t get too many credits, but they should get credit for driving tier-two development. It’s great for the game.”
A complaint often levelled at the sport’s powerhouses is that they do not play their less established rivals frequently enough.
“World rugby is like having a little brother – they always want more. There’s always only so much you can do, but just look at how competitive they’ve been at the World Cup,” Jones said.
“They’ve had better preparation and there’s more organisation put into their structure. Their players are better prepared physically and there are young players coming through. It’s not perfect, but it’s certainly moving in the right direction.”
England’s players have been given the weekend off to spend time with family before heading to Tokyo tomorrow to begin preparations for the clash with Argentina.
“We’ll review the game against the USA and look at the 23 we need to play against Argentina,” Jones said.
“We’ll consider the conditions because Tokyo will be 27 degrees and 80 per cent humidity.
“It’s going to be a wet-weather game, so we’ll pick a side to play wetweather rugby. The sun might be shining, but it will be wet weather.
“This World Cup is unique because of the conditions – it’s never been played in these conditions before.”
Ireland face hosts Japan today without back rower Jack Conan.
The Leinster man was meant to start the match, but a foot injury has ruled him out. Peter O’Mahony will step up in his absence.
Wales tackle Australia tomorrow when Alun Wyn Jones will become their most-capped player. The skipper wins his 130th cap, breaking the record held by Gethin Jenkins.