England fans decide whether Eddie Jones has addressed the issues flagged in France
Following the 24-17 loss to France on Sunday in the opening game of the Six Nations, much of the rhetoric from England coach Eddie Jones has been around refusing to make changes and not listening to fans.
The Australian has always been quite conservative with alterations between matches – regardless of the result – and this has brought him a lot of success. He has plenty of trust in his players and often backs them to come good.
However, after a humbling loss in Paris, where England trailed 24-0 at one point, there were vocal demands all week for changes and Jones has responded by making five to the starting XV.
The decision to drop Ben Youngs to the bench and promote Willi Heinz has proved popular, as the veteran scrum-half did not have his best game in France.
The Gloucester nine posed a threat in the latter stages of that Test and had England looking more dangerous when carrying near the ruck during their fightback.
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Likewise, Lewis Ludlam creates a more balanced back row and brings slightly more potency in attack than his Northampton Saints team-mate Courtney Lawes did last weekend.
The lock by no means had a bad game at blindside but is still better suited to the engine room in the scrum. Maro Itoje’s long-time England and Saracens partner George Kruis comes in for Charlie Ewels, in what is another move that has proved popular.
Had to be changes after Paris. Good to see Heinz starting https://t.co/wEUjjlYQS6
— James Barker (@LWOS_JBarker) February 6, 2020
Buzzing for Willi Heinz starting against the Scots tomorrow. He changed the game last time out against France. Very calm presence on the squad #SCOvENG
— Jake (@JakeAtkins96) February 6, 2020
Lawes and uncapped Ben Earl will also provide an almighty impact from the bench, which is perhaps what England lacked in Paris.
The Saracen offers pace and power in the back row while towering lock Lawes has put in some of his best performances for England in cameos from the bench, with his trademark bone-crunching tackles in the final quarter.
Tom Dunn is also poised to make his debut from the bench, replacing Luke Cowan-Dickie who has returned home for personal reasons.
Liking the balance now. Kruis had to come back in. Give Furbank another chance at FB. Heinz at SH much better than Youngs. Curry at 8 needs to prove himself in that position however. Buzzing to be in Edinburgh this weekend – come on ENG! https://t.co/ssWjJOaAk6
— Alexander Kelly (@alexanderkelly_) February 6, 2020
Positives:
Kruis should improve the line out.
At least there are three back row players.
It felt like Youngs' position has been too comfortable and it'll do him no harm to be dropped.
Pleased Genge has kept his place.— Stephen Allen (@Elephantlens) February 6, 2020
With that being said, there are still some aspects of the selection that have not been well received, chiefly the insistence to play Tom Curry at No8.
However, after saying that he wanted to turn the Sale Sharks man into a specialist in that position, it would have been strange if Jones bowed to the demands of fans. In a more balanced back row, this decision may actually pay off in Murrayfield.
Don't know why Curry is at 8, he's a superb 7 and should be put there and draft in a number 8. Glad to see Heinz get the start, should have happened a while ago though
— Ben Hardwick (@benn121) February 6, 2020
Other than Curry at 8 it looks far more balanced
— Sidney (@SidneyUnchained) February 6, 2020
Elsewhere, Ollie Thorley looked tipped to earn his first cap this weekend following the injury to Manu Tuilagi. While Jonathan Joseph has moved into a starting berth, Jones has opted to fill the vacant space on the bench with Joe Launchbury, making a 6-2 forwards/backs split.
This has rarely been done by the coach before and may be influenced by forwards coach Matt Proudfoot, but in what are going to be testing conditions in Edinburgh, this is an insight into how England are approaching the game.
What does Ollie thorley need to do to get in the 23?! What a joke
— Ash Skinner (@AshleySkinner19) February 6, 2020
Mako Vunipola was always expected to return to the squad, having missed out through injury to Joe Marler against Fabien Galthie’s side. England lacked his prowess with the ball in hand against a brutal French defence, and this is yet another change that brings more promise ahead of the Calcutta Cup Test.
A response is expected from England this weekend as they hope to get their campaign back on track, and Jones looks to have addressed many of the issues that were flagged in France.
WATCH: The Rugby Pod sets the scene ahead of round two of the Guinness Six Nations
Comments on RugbyPass
I certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to comments