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Jones: 'Mako definitely won't be ready for the start of RWC'

By Chris Jones
(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Eddie Jones has confirmed that Mako Vunipola will miss at least the first two of England’s World Cup pool matches with a recurrence of the hamstring injury he first suffered in the Heineken Cup final last May with Saracens.

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However, head coach Jones is adamant the loosehead will be a key member of the squad and can still make a significant contribution – even though the earliest that is likely to be is the third pool match with Argentina on October 5 followed by the group finale versus France.

Confirmation that Vunipola will miss the early games with Tonga and the USA will leave Joe Marler as the first choice loosehead with Ellis Genge, a try scorer in Friday’s 37-0 win over Italy in Newcastle, providing cover off the bench. 

Injured in the August 24 rout of Ireland at Twickenham, the initial diagnosis on Vunipola was that a 10-day break would ensure he was ready for Japan. However, that situation has now been updated and his absence for the early weeks is a significant blow to the England cause.

Jones said: “Mako definitely won’t be ready for the start but we believe he will be ready for game three or four of the pool stage. 

“Mako is a very important player for us and we feel he is going to be ready to contribute in the World Cup. We are carrying two looseheads who are in great form, but we are confident that Mako will make a great contribution.

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“Jack (Nowell) in the last couple of days has taken off and we have had to hold him back, but he should be right again around the same time as Mako.”

England lost Joe Launchbury and Luke Cowan-Dickie to injury against Italians in Newcastle, but Jones insisted they were not major worries and added that Kyle Sinckler was only taken off as a precaution. 

Launchbury has a back problem and will be monitored along with Cowan-Dickie before England depart on Sunday for Japan.

Jones insisted the win over Italy, which completed a four-match World Cup warm-up programme, was a worthwhile exercise although England had to wait until the second half to pull away from a combative Italian side that lacked a real cutting edge.

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WATCH: The trailer for the new RugbyPass documentary featuring Tonga, England’s opponents in their World Cup campaign opener in Sapporo on September 22

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Jon 9 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 11 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.

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