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Ireland Test will be best barometer for England's RWC preparations

By Alex Shaw
Manu Tuilagi (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

After answering a number of questions about his overall 31-man England Rugby World Cup squad in the back-to-back fixtures with Wales, Eddie Jones is finally about the find out where his first XV is ahead of jetting out to Japan next month.

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Unfortunately, niggling injuries have shaped the selection in the back row over the last couple of week, but the group set to take the pitch against Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday is certainly more reminiscent of the side that Jones recently opted for in the Six Nations.

Owen Farrell returns to the XV, albeit at 12 with George Ford retaining the 10 jersey, while Jonny May, Manu Tuilagi and Ben Youngs all return in the back line. The familiar pairing of Maro Itoje and George Kruis starts in the second row, Jamie George and Kyle Sinckler are back in the front row and both Tom Curry and Sam Underhill are over their recent injury issues.

Mako Vunipola is also back, albeit on the bench, with Mark Wilson overcoming a rib injury and joining him. One notable absentee is Henry Slade, who hasn’t featured for England since the Six Nations finale against Scotland.

Likewise, Ireland have brought in as many of their first-string players as possible, with the likes of Conor Murray, Rob Kearney and Jacob Stockdale all coming into the back line following the win over Italy two weeks ago. Tadhg Furlong, Rory Best and Cian Healy are all recalled in the front row and there are spots in the back row for Peter O’Mahony and CJ Stander.

Ross Byrne breaking
England will be hoping their speed off the line can pressure Ross Byrne (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

No Joey Carbery or Jonny Sexton means Rory Byrne assumes the duties at 10 and wins only his third cap, while there is another opportunity for Jean Kleyn after an encouraging debut. But it is, for the most part, the strongest side that Joe Schmidt can currently call upon.

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With some familiar combinations back in play for England and a formidable opponent, this game is set up to be the best barometer yet for where England are going into the tournament and particularly for how well prepared they are for the tests of France and Argentina in Pool C at the finals.

To progress in the World Cup, teams need an effective 31-man group. England certainly won’t be taking the USA and Tonga lightly, but it is how their first XV performs against France and Argentina that will almost certainly decide if they make it through to the knockouts, whether they do that in first or second place, and what sort of momentum they take into those potential fixtures.

England have a good recent record against both of those sides and will be confident going into the pool, although France’s superb dismantling of Scotland last Saturday and flashes from Argentina, such as their 40-minute display against New Zealand and the general form of their Jaguares’ core, will have Jones and England cautious.

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A return to the Ford-Farrell combination this Saturday, however, gives England a good opportunity to re-examine if that partnership can work again after having stuck with it so vehemently through Jones’ first two seasons in charge. Coupled with Tuilagi at 13, Saturday will be a strong indication of how well the unit is gelling, not only in terms of attacking fluency, but also in defensive understanding. As a group, they will be tested by Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose, not to mention Stockdale’s proclivity for looking for work off of his wing.

There is a lot riding on Tuilagi playing an integral role in the midfield and staying fit, with the Toulon-bound Ben Te’o now ineligible. If Tuilagi goes down injured, England’s number two option at 12 – assuming Farrell were to move back to fly-half – currently seems to be Piers Francis who, despite impressing in both games against Wales, offers a different dynamic to the one Tuilagi brings and thus a potential adjustment in England’s game plan.

As a group, the trio will need to show their capabilities to create opportunity in attack, as well as prevent Ireland from being able to turn the corner on them in defence. There’s only so much that can be learnt from and replicated in training, so a return to the 13 jersey – while unexpected – is something which England need to try now rather than at the Rugby World Cup.

Similarly, the return of Mako Vunipola to the matchday 23 gives Jones a look at how game-ready he is, as he could lock horns with Furlong in the scrum should he arrive before the Irishman departs. England went well against Wales at the set-piece, particularly in the first test, so Joe Marler and Sinckler will need to be sharp against Ireland, in what is an all-British and Irish Lions encounter between the six players involved.

Vunipola’s conditioning and ability to help England get over the gain-line will also be under the microscope. With England just taking one pure number eight to Japan, they will need other ball-carriers to step up over the coming weeks, to assuage any concerns there might be should Billy Vunipola pick up an injury at the tournament.

The combination of Curry and Underhill in the back row, in a unit that looks more mobile than the one that got outplayed by Wales at the breakdown last Saturday, is something that many have been clamouring for. The way the two balance their responsibilities at Twickenham will be interesting to watch, as well as if one of the two is used as a lineout option.

In the George, Itoje and Kruis triad, England have their tried and tested lineout formula that works at both club and international level, but if O’Mahony and his almost peerless defensive set-piece work begins to harry England, will they mix it up with a third jumper?

Wilson, like Mako Vunipola, gets a chance to prove his fitness from the bench and it would be no surprise to see him replace Billy Vunipola, with the number eight in line for a reduced workload. This would also provide a glimpse into what the England back row may look like if brawn is swapped for mobility, with Wilson, Curry and Underhill all on the pitch at the same time. Can England still successfully get over the gain-line without their talismanic number eight?

There are still questions to be answered, but with the majority of the incumbents returning to the starting XV this weekend, and those coming back from injury at least making the bench, the 80 minutes at Twickenham for England will be their best World Cup barometer yet.

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Jon 4 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 7 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

30 Go to comments
A
Adrian 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

30 Go to comments
T
Trevor 12 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
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