'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.”
7?? changes for England, uncapped trio on bench ?https://t.co/vPkgdG9tTa
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 29, 2020
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 ?
Watch The Next Level | O2 Inside Line ? https://t.co/zrMQg4hfzW#WearTheRose @o2sports pic.twitter.com/6wlux20JIv
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) October 29, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
A wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
24 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to comments