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England name team to take on Italy

By Online Editors
The England team line up for the national anthem prior to the Guinness Six Nations match against Wales (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Eddie Jones has selected an England team to play Italy on Saturday in their next Guinness Six Nations match showing five changes to the starting XV that played Wales a fortnight ago.

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Joe Cokanasiga (Bath Rugby) starts on the right wing for his fourth cap while Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors) comes in at inside centre with Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers) moving to outside centre.

Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers) starts at loosehead prop with Ben Moon (Exeter Chiefs) shifting to the bench. Joe Launchbury (Wasps) is named in the second row following the injury of Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints) in Cardiff. Brad Shields (Wasps) will start at blindside flanker with Mark Wilson (Newcastle Falcons) named as a finisher.

Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers) and Nathan Hughes (Wasps) are both named as finishers having not been involved in England’s previous match against Wales.

Eddie Jones said: “We have had a good preparation ahead of Italy with a great week in Oxford where we competed against Georgia for two days. Players have had a good break and have come back into camp reenergised and refocused for what is an important game for us.”

(Continue reading below…)

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He added: “Italy is a bit of an unknown quantity but when Conor (O’Shea) allows them to play rugby they play well. They have played terrific games in the Six Nations. They are fitter, physically stay in the contest a lot longer and they are quite unpredictable in the way they attack.

“We expect Italy to throw the ball around a bit so we are going to have to defend very well against their unpredictability and when we have got the ball, we have to use it wisely.”

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On returning to Twickenham, Jones said: “We are looking forward to getting back to Twickenham. We haven’t played there since the France game so it will be nice to play in front of our home crowd.”

England starting XV (472 caps)

15 Elliot Daly (Wasps, 28 caps)

14 Joe Cokanasiga (Bath Rugby, 3 caps)

13 Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers, 30 caps)

12 Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors 16 caps)

11 Jonny May (Leicester Tigers, 43 caps)

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10 Owen Farrell (Saracens, 68 caps) (captain)

9 Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 83 caps)

1 Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 7 caps)

2 Jamie George (Saracens, 35 caps)

3 Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins, 20 caps)

4 Joe Launchbury (Wasps, 56 caps)

5 George Kruis (Saracens, 30 caps)

6 Brad Shields (Wasps, 6 caps)

7 Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 8 caps)

8 Billy Vunipola (Saracens, 39 caps)

Finishers (203 caps)

16 Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, 9 caps)

17 Ben Moon (Exeter Chiefs, 6 caps)

18 Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 83 caps)

19 Nathan Hughes (Wasps, 20 caps)

20 Mark Wilson (Newcastle Falcons, 11 caps)

21 Dan Robson (Wasps, 1 cap)

22 George Ford (Leicester Tigers, 53 caps)

23 Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 20 caps)

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Trevor 2 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.

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B
Bull Shark 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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