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England explain reverting back to Ford and dropping half of their beaten Six Nations pack
Eddie Jones has explained why he has altered half of his starting pack following the shock England loss to Scotland last weekend, adding that the inclusion of George Ford to start this week at out-half is the best approach for his Six Nations team versus Italy.
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Eyebrows were raised last week when Jones opted to bench Ford and instead switch captain Owen Farrell into out-half from inside centre, a selection that allowed him to field an experimental Test midfield partnership of Ollie Lawrence and Henry Slade.
This gambit failed to fire, England beaten 11-6 in a Six Nations performance that left much to be desired. It sparked calls for Farrell to be dropped but having unequivocally backed his captain at a media appearance on Tuesday, Jones instead opted to switch his leader back to No12 and omit Lawrence.
“Just think that is the right balance for the game,” he said. “We know that George and Owen operate well at ten and twelve. We’d like to get Henry into the game more, so that is the right balance for this game.
“Difficult game for him,” he added about the axed Lawrence, who falls out of the matchday 23 entirely. “He is a young guy learning his trade. This is all part of learning his trade. He is going to be a great player for us.”
5 changes for England, including the return of Ford#ENGvITA #SixNationshttps://t.co/p9ojL885iI
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 11, 2021
England struggled for physical dominance against the Scots and with Mako Vunipola fit again and Kyle Sinckler finished his suspension, Jones has used their availability to go with an all-changed front row as Luke Cowan-Dickie has also come in at hooker for his first Six Nations start.
Cowan-Dickie’s three previous starts in his 27-cap Test career came in two World Cup warm-ups and against the USA at the finals in Japan. “Just a change on roles. He is going to finish,” said Jones about the demotion of George to the bench.
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Regarding the props, he added: “They bring a lot of experience, a lot of nous. The scrummaging area is always difficult. Traditionally it has been difficult against Italy and we expect the same on Saturday. They [Vunipola and Sinckler] bring that (experience) plus their aggression and calmness.”
Jones’ other pack alteration will see Courtney Lawes start at blindside in place of Mark Wilson and he believes his rejigged team will now make amends for last weekend’s ambush by the Scots. “We’re only worried about ourselves. We’re not too worried about Italy. As you know we are coming off a disappointing loss against Scotland so we have really focused on ourselves.
“Last week we got the information wrong. We have just tried to get the information right this week which will aid in our thinking and get us back playing front-foot rugby which we are at our best at. We are one of the most damaging teams in the world and that is what we want to get back to.
“We want to be on the front foot the whole game and that pack allows us to do that. Then we have got to be able to take those opportunities and turn them into points. That’s the priority this week.
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“I got the information wrong last week. We got our priorities wrong in terms of the game and we have tried to sort that out this week. We want to play good English rugby where we are as close to our best as we can be. That involves having good set-piece, good defence and then being able to take those opportunities to come and attack and turn those opportunities into points.”
Asked if he had considered including uncapped duo Paolo Odogwu and Harry Randall for this Saturday’s game, Jones replied: “Everyone came into consideration. We want to get back on the front foot and we believe this is best 23 to get us back on the front foot.
“All of those guys you have mentioned have all been given strong consideration and they understand what they need to keep working on. Both those guys that you specifically mentioned they are both making inroads, both making progress and each week they get a little bit closer.”
"I can’t think of a better England team to beat Italy and put smiles back on people’s faces than this one"
– @AndyGoode10 reckons it is time for Eddie Jones to ring the changes #SixNations #ENGvITAhttps://t.co/81E1yj8ryA
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 10, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
I bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
28 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
90 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
4 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
9 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
19 Go to comments