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England provide update on Joseph, Ford ahead of Ireland clash
England back Jonathan Joseph is winning his battle with the back injury sustained against Georgia as the Autumn Nations Cup challenge against Ireland looms at Twickenham on Saturday. Joseph suffered a spasm while in the process of setting up a try for Elliot Daly in the first half of a 40-0 rout of Les Lelos last weekend and was in obvious pain as he was helped from the pitch by England medics.
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The 29-year-old Bath centre-turned-wing has responded well to treatment, however, and could be ready in time for the visit of Andy Farrell’s Ireland. “Jonathan is recovering nicely, so hopefully he’ll be in contention for this weekend, which is good for us,” attack coach Simon Amor said.
The news is less positive over fly-half George Ford and prop Joe Marler, both of whom look set to miss out once again as respective Achilles and knee injuries leave them waiting to make their first Autumn Nations Cup appearances.
“George is progressing nicely as well. We’re hoping he will be in contention in some part of this tournament,” said Amor, who revealed that flanker Mark Wilson has returned to his club Newcastle for treatment.
“It’s an achilles injury, which can take some time, but he’s progressing nicely so that’s encouraging,” Amor added of Ford. “We’re not sure at the moment if he will be back for Saturday, but he is moving in the right direction which is brilliant.
Another twist to Eddie's rugby terminology https://t.co/ErEp82i8at
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“Joe’s another one who is progressing nicely and moving in the right direction. Hopefully, he will be involved in some part of the tournament and hopefully that will be sooner rather than later. They’re just difficult little injuries, niggling little injuries and we’ve got to get them right.”
Following last Saturday’s win, Jones said of Joseph’s injury: “He has got a bit of a spasm in his back. He landed on his lower back but we don’t think it is going to be too serious at this stage. We are hopeful, cautiously optimistic is probably the right term.”
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Amor echoes the view of head coach Jones that England should have emerged more emphatic winners against Georgia. Los Lelos were taken on at their traditional strength in the forwards and taken apart but the attack spluttered, with Daly’s finish of Joseph’s break the highlight of an efficient if workmanlike team performance.
“We left quite a few points out there. We made some small progress, took steps in the right direction,” Amor said. “There were quite a few handling errors so there are definitely areas to improve upon. And we’re building those connections between players. We’re excited about where we’re going and we’re keen to take a big step forward this weekend, particularly in execution.”
The switch from outside centre to the right wing by Joseph was a success as he took advantage of being given the freedom to roam across the England backline, but if passed fit and selected he will find the Ireland defence less accommodating than Georgia’s.
“Jonathan’s had one previous opportunity to play on the wing for us. We think he can have a bit more space and that fluidity moving between the positions,” Amor said. “The opportunity to roam, the way the game is going, really plays to his strength. He has such a wonderful feel for the game.
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“We know he’s elusive, he reads the game very, very well in defence and he has a wonderful feel in the attack, so he provides a really good attacking option for us.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
It’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
24 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
24 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
1 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
24 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
14 Go to commentsDoes the AI take into account refs? hahaha Seriously why not have two on field refs to avoid bias?
24 Go to comments