'He hits hard, carries hard, sort of a no-nonsense player similar to the George Kruis mould'
Eddie Jones has given a short and sweet assessment as to why he has chosen uncapped Jonny Hill to make a debut start for England in Saturday’s Six Nations finale against Italy in Rome. One point behind Ireland on the table, England are travelling in the hope of running up a big score that will put pressure on the Irish for their late Saturday night match in Paris against France.
Ireland beat Italy 50-17 last weekend in Dublin, but Jones will want an England XV showing seven changes from their last outing – the March home win over Wales – to do better than the seven-try Irish, who conceded two soft tries.
With George Kruis no longer available to England following his decision to leave Saracens and move to the Top League in Japan, Jones has been on the lookout in recent months for a second row enforcer and his search has ended with 26-year-old Hill, the menacing lock who lifted Champions Cup and Premiership titles in recent weeks with Exeter.
“He’s a big, tall guy, hits hard, carries hard, sort of a no-nonsense player similar to the George Kruis mould,” said Jones at his media conference on Thursday prior to England’s departure for Italy.
“We feel like we have got a good balance between experienced players and some young guys coming into the squad. There has been some great competition during the couple of days’ training we have had. We have maximised our training time and this is the best squad we have at the moment.”
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Ireland will be guaranteed the title if they defeat France with a bonus-point win. That type of victory is unlikely, however, meaning the title destination could come down to points difference. The Irish are currently on +38 with England +15, a gap the back-to-back 2016 and 2017 champions will look to close and surpass with a flourish in Rome.
Jones, though, sidestepped talk about the winning margin that might be required to win the title. “It doesn’t (come into our thinking) at all. As soon as we got the full squad in we have focused on maximising our performance,” he said.
“We know Italy will present a challenge and we have just got to be as disciplined and focused on playing to our absolute best. Every minute presents an opportunity to play at our best and we intend to optimise every minute we have got in Rome.”
Aside from Hill’s inclusion, the other pack changes see Mako Vunipola at loosehead for Joe Marler, and Sam Underhill and Billy Vunipola coming in for Mark Wilson and Courtney Lawes at back row.
There are three changes to the backs, George Furbank for Elliot Daly, Jonathan Joseph for Manu Tuilagi while Henry Slade starts at No12 with Owen Farrell switching to out-half in the absence of George Ford. Scrum-half Ben Youngs will also become only the second England player to ever won 100 caps.
“Look, I can only speak with great admiration about Ben,” added Jones. “He had a difficult World Cup in 2015 and since then has worked extremely hard on his game. At his best, he is one of the best half-backs in the world. He has got a great running game, a good kicking game, and he is an important, infectious character in our squad.”
Jones has chosen three uncapped players on the England bench – Tom Dunn, Ollie Lawrence and Ollie Thorley – and he delivered his verdict on all three. “All good young players,” he said.
“Tom Dunn has been knocking around the squad for a while now, has kept improving his game. A good, tough hooker, complements Jamie’s ability to organise the scrum and throw accurately in the lineout. It’s a great achievement for Jamie (George) to be playing his 50th cap as an England hooker. He had a long apprenticeship under Dylan (Hartley) and is now fully established as our starting hooker and Tom will support him well.
“We have got Ollie Lawrence, again a young guy we have a had look at over the last couple of years. He has got good power, runs good lines and certainly adds to the squad. Ollie is just full of enthusiasm, full of beans, engaging character. He has got power and pace and has worked exceptionally hard on his work off the ball which has impressed us greatly.”
What does an intense England session look like? This ?
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— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) October 29, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
It 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.
25 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 🤐
13 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….
25 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….
13 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….
77 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
1 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
44 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to comments