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How does Eddie Jones fill the Maro Itoje void against France?

By Alex Shaw
Courtney Lawes in action (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Coming into Le Crunch week, it seems as though Eddie Jones and England have the relative luxury of only needing to make one change to the side that triumphed in Dublin last weekend.

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England beat the reigning Grand Slam champions Ireland 32-20 in a highly-impressive display on Saturday afternoon, with the only real negative to come out of the contest a potentially Six Nations-ending injury for Maro Itoje.

The Saracens lock suffered a tear in his medial ligament and various prognoses have him, at best, making it back just in time for the final game of the championship against Scotland, whilst others have him out until Saracens’ Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final with Glasgow Warriors. Either way, the talismanic second row is certainly out for this weekend’s game against France, as well as the upcoming challenges of Wales and Italy.

Who, then, should Jones turn to, to partner George Kruis in England’s engine room? Barring an unlikely scenario whereby a called-up player from outside of the initial Six Nations squad goes straight into the XV, the options are two-fold, Courtney Lawes or Joe Launchbury.

There are compelling cases for both, but as the man who was involved in the 23 against Ireland, we’ll start with Lawes.

He delivers in a number of the same areas as Itoje, most notably with the line-speed he brings in defence and with his ability to hunt down the ball on opposition lineout throws. Add into the mix his defensive reads and his ability to make momentum-shifting solo tackles behind the gain-line – a few of which he was able to connect with during his 28-minute shift in Dublin – and you have a player that helps England achieve the same dynamism in defence that Itoje does.

As for Launchbury, the case for starting the Wasps man leans heavily on his work rate and conditioning. Launchbury is a player that will be giving as much in the 75th minute as he is in the 10th minute, and by bringing him off the bench, likely for a 20-to-30-minute spell, you take away his engine being a decisive factor on the pitch. He also chips in at the contact area, bringing some of the predatory fetching work that Itoje does so well.

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The RugbyPass Index backs up these assertions, with Lawes’ lineout steal rating of 91 far outstripping Launchbury’s mark of 29. They are both matched evenly on lineout takes, a rating of how good they are on their own ball, with scores of 83.

One of the more interesting nuggets from the RPI has been the influence score of the two players. In seasons gone by, Launchbury would have been thought of as the more influential attacking player of the two, but currently Lawes’ influence score, which charts involvement in the build-up to winning moments, sits at 86, whilst Launchbury’s is at 64.

If you factor in Launchbury’s recent injury and Wasps’ struggles in general, which provide some necessary context, it explains the size of that differential, but it also speaks to the more well-rounded offensive game that Lawes has developed over the last couple of seasons.

In terms of a like-for-like option, who will bring the defensive intensity, set-piece dynamism and momentum plays, Lawes seems the more suitable option to start against France. He showed up well off the bench against Ireland and his ability to stop Les Bleus at source, whether that be the lineout or getting to ball-carriers behind the gain-line, would be key to preventing them from getting their power game going.

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There is an argument that Lawes offers more impact than Launchbury, and therefore would bring better balance to the England side by coming off the bench in an attempt to change a game going badly, but it is better to go into a game with the intent of trying to win it from the off, rather than having to chase a game in the final quarter.

On current form and given the skills England have lost through Itoje’s injury, the balance of power would seem to be with Lawes heading into Le Crunch, but Jones has never been afraid of making bold selection calls in the past.

Watch: Jonny May and Mako Vunipola speak to RugbyPass after the win in Dublin

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Jon 1 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”?

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j
john 4 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.

15 Go to comments
A
Adrian 6 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

15 Go to comments
T
Trevor 8 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.

21 Go to comments
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