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Jones hints he could start 9 England forwards against Georgia
England boss Eddie Jones has teased he could next weekend reprise a selection tactic he successfully used previously against Georgia with Japan in 2015 – picking an extra forward on the wing so that he could have nine forwards on the pitch to help outmuscle the traditionally physical Eastern Europeans.
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Jones’ England host the Georgians next Saturday at Twickenham in their Autumn Nations Cup opener and queries about the visitors’ noted physicality in their pack jogged memories in the coach of his five-year-old victory against them with Japan.
Georgia had beaten the Japanese 35-24 in November 2014 in Tbilisi, but Jones pulled off an upset in the rematch ten months later, selecting Hendrik Tui – normally a No8 – on the wing to add some heft to his team’s level of physicality.
That 13-10 warm-up win at Gloucester was followed 14 days later by one of the greatest shocks ever in World Cup history, the Japan Miracle of Brighton win over South Africa.
Tui was restored to No8 for that triumph over the Springboks, but the successful repositioning experiment is something Jones suggested he could now use again as he wants England to develop hybrid players who can double up and play as both a forward and a back.
A message from the boss ?
? "We're working as hard as we can to put a smile on your face" pic.twitter.com/MjUDtZX3Xe
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) November 7, 2020
“They’re the fathers of wrestling. They are all about manhood, they’re all about being physical, they have made their way into the top 15 in the world through having a dominant scrum, a tough forward pack, hard running backs and we anticipate the same from them,” said Jones, looking ahead to next weekend’s game against the Georgians after clinching Six Nations title success last weekend in Rome.
“They [Georgia] didn’t scrum well against Scotland [they lost 48-7 on October 23] but I’m sure they will improve from that. I remember last time we played them for Japan before the World Cup in 2015 we played with nine forwards, such was the strength of their pack.
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“Maybe I will consider doing the same again, which would give you [the media] plenty to write about. We had eight forwards in the pack and a ninth forward who could play as a forward. We played nine forwards and six backs.”
Asked could this tactic be adopted by England, Jones continued: “100 per cent, mate. We’ll just wait and see. Maybe Ollie Thorley, maybe Ben Earl – there are a number of guys we are trying to make into hybrid players.”
Jones’ recollection of his previous results wasn’t exactly correct, his scorelines both skewed from those Japan-Georgia encounters, while he also got his year wrong when recollecting Barcelona’s use of a false nine in a Champions League football final win over Manchester United. However, the premise was still clear: Jones is open to outside-the-box thinking to try and make England better.
“We won 16-9 (sic),” he said incorrectly when asked if his use of nine Japan forwards was a success against Georgia. “The previous time we played them we got pumped 25-12 (sic). It worked brilliantly so it [the tactic] might be out again. We have just got to find a bigger sized No9 shirt. Next week we’ll have to find one if we decided to go down that course.
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“We have got to look at how we can keep improving the game. Tradition says you have eight forwards and seven backs. That seems right and it probably is right, but there is no reason why we can’t look at that. When Barcelona beat Manchester United in the Champions League, was it 1999? (sic, 2009), they played the false nine. There is no reason why you can’t do that in rugby, play a false ten for instance, or play a false winger and create a different position.
“We’re looking to do that because we know that to become the team we want to become we have got to keep improving and we have got to keep looking at the edge. So these ideas are things that we take seriously and we look at to see how we can improve the side – and maybe the Georgia game is an opportunity to do that, play a different way.”
SQUAD UPDATE: Anthony Watson is the big-name casualty as England prepare for Georgia. https://t.co/DTu5au3UrD
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 7, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
The shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
56 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
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