Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
NZ NZ

England lifted by unexpected personnel boost

By PA
Press Association

England have been lifted following a dismal start to the autumn by the unexpected return to fitness of hooker Jamie George.

ADVERTISEMENT

George was expected to miss the entire Autumn Nations Cup campaign after breaking two metatarsals on club duty for Saracens against Leicester on October 1, the initial prognosis a 10 to 12 period of recovery.

But the Lions front row has been included in a 36-man training squad for Saturday’s visit of Japan to Twickenham with England confirming he is available for selection.

Video Spacer

Video Spacer

It will be hoped George can show sufficient fitness to support starting hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie as Eddie Jones’ men look to rebound from a shock 30-29 loss to Argentina on Sunday.

Back three reinforcements have also arrived with Tommy Freeman making a successful return from a foot injury for Northampton against Exeter on Friday, while Jonny May is available after recovering from an elbow problem.

Freeman and May will put pressure on starting wings Joe Cokanasiga and Jack Nowell with the current backline showing a notable lack of pace.

Related

Nowell, one of the better performers against Argentina, insists simple fixes should revive the autumn, claiming England were the architects of their own downfall in a flat series opener.

ADVERTISEMENT

It was a first loss to the Pumas for 13 years having racked up 10 successive wins in the fixture, in the process registering a fifth defeat in nine Tests this year with tougher assignments against New Zealand and South Africa still to come.

The penalty count finished 10-10 and Nowell said: “If we sort out the discipline, it would have been a completely different game. We know exactly what we need to fix.

“It’s bloody hard to play a game of rugby when you’re giving away that many penalties. They were kicking to the corner, taking three points, chipping away at you.

“It’s Test rugby and you have to win the game a few times over. But when we are making that hard for ourselves, we only have ourselves to blame.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related

“It’s not as if we don’t know what to do out there, we know exactly what to do. We’re just not doing it.

“We weren’t looking at each other in the changing room after the game and thinking ‘how have we lost that’. We know why we lost that and probably deserved to.

“The confidence is there among the team. We’re going to stay together and stay tight.”

Piercing the clouds hanging over Twickenham was Manu Tuilagi’s eagerly-awaited return at outside centre after a year out with hamstring and knee injuries.

The hard-running 31-year-old made several dents on Argentina’s defence before limping off because of a blister and Nowell was delighted to be on the pitch with his long-term friend.

Related

“It was so good to have Manu back. He’s an unbelievable player and he has worked hard to get back,” said Nowell, whose own international career has suffered from repeat visits to the treatment room.

“When you’ve got someone like that on the inside of you, he sucks players in, he draws players, but he is also very good in defence as well.

“We didn’t want to jinx it so we didn’t say anything to each other because over so many years we’ve been like ships in the night, unable to get on the field together. We enjoyed a cuddle after the game!

“He’s just got a blister and it’s not too bad. The physios are good at looking after things like that so he is all good. He’s had way worse!”

ADVERTISEMENT

Join free

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | Episode 6

Sam Warburton | The Big Jim Show | Full Episode

Japan Rugby League One | Sungoliath v Eagles | Full Match Replay

Japan Rugby League One | Spears v Wild Knights | Full Match Replay

Boks Office | Episode 10 | Six Nations Final Round Review

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | How can New Zealand rugby beat this Ireland team

Beyond 80 | Episode 5

Rugby Europe Men's Championship Final | Georgia v Portugal | Full Match Replay

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
Jon 7 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”?

35 Go to comments
j
john 10 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.

39 Go to comments
A
Adrian 11 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

39 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING Louis Rees-Zammit signs for Roc Nation ahead of his Kansas visit Louis Rees-Zammit signs for Roc Nation ahead of his Kansas visit
Search