Mako Vunipola set to miss Wales game but Anthony Watson could return for England
England look set to be without Mako Vunipola for another phase of their Guinness Six Nations title push, but Anthony Watson could be available to strengthen the back three.
Vunipola last week travelled to Tonga for family reasons, forcing him to miss the 24-12 demolition of Ireland that has kept Eddie Jones’ World Cup finalists in title contention.
But the powerful loosehead prop is unlikely to return to these shores in time for the penultimate round of the Six Nations against Wales at Twickenham on Saturday week.
Watson, however, will link up with England at their three-day training camp in Oxford if he is able to demonstrate he has recovered from the calf problem that has prevented him from taking part in the championship to date.
England are well stocked for quality looseheads in the shape of Joe Marler and Ellis Genge, making Vunipola’s return less urgent, but Watson can play wing or full-back and would be a valuable reinforcement.
“Mako probably won’t be back for Wales. He’s gone home for family business,” head coach Jones said.
“Anthony’s got to do a running session and if he gets through that we’ll get him into camp.”
England swept aside Ireland in a performance that evoked memories of the victories over Australia and New Zealand that propelled them into last autumn’s World Cup final.
At the heart of the triumph was second row Maro Itoje, who was close to his destructive best having made a quiet start to the Six Nations.
Ireland attempted to rattle him and Jones warned future opponents that they target him at their peril.
“Maro’s been through that and that’s what normally happens with a second year player – they work out what you are good at and then try to take it away from you,” Jones said.
“He’s been through that process and now they can go at him. The more they go at him, the more it distracts them from their game.
“The thing I like about Maro is that he has a real growth mindset, he really wants to keep improving.
“And he sees it as a real important part of his game, not only being that physical, menacing type player but also being a guy that can influence others to play well. That was quite evident against Ireland.
“We see the way he relates to his fellow players, the way he communicates, the way he gets more out of the players around him. We are seeing that more and more.”
While Itoje is growing in stature within England’s leadership group, it is captain Owen Farrell who continues to act as standard bearer.
“We’ve been speaking about the growth of the leadership team. It takes time. Owen is not even two years into the job. Every game he captains, he gets a little bit better,” Jones said.
“It wasn’t about what he did on the field against Ireland, it was about what he did in the lead-up to the game.
“It was outstanding how he led the team in the lead-up to the game and we saw that when the players got on the field. We had great focus.
“He’s learning to be a better captain. Captaincy is hard. He’s doing a great job as captain.”
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*They used to say that football is a gentleman sport watched by hooligans and rugby is a hooligan sport watched by gentlemen. How times have changed.*
3 Go to commentsexcept ot wasnt late wasnt late at all so dont know why you all saying its late he commits early and its your fault fir not paying attention
29 Go to commentsNot sure the Bulls need another average utility back in their ranks. Chamberlain has been ok for the Sharks but is by no means an X-Factor player. Bulls bought several utility backs which they barely use. A typical example would be Henry Immelman who plays mostly Fullback. The Bulls however have rarely played him this year and he has played wing or centre. Bulls want to build depth but seems like they have too many surplus players
1 Go to commentsABs lost against a side playing without a hooker - The guy playing, had one shoulder. Line outs were a gimme for the ABs, and the last 8 minutes 14 played 14 against a team that had been smashed 3 weeks in a row… Yet with all that possession, with all that territory, with all the advantages they actually had, especially in the last 8 minutes, they couldn’t buy a point. Those last 8 minutes determined if they outplayed the Boks or not. History will show that the Boks completely outplayed the ABs, especially in those last 8 minutes, the business end of any rugby match
226 Go to commentsWould’ve, could’ve, should’ve, didn’t.
226 Go to commentsKok will become a fan favourite
1 Go to commentsI am really looking forward to Leigh Halfpenny playing his first Super rugby game for the Crusaders Playing a long side his former Welsh and Scarlets team mate Johnny McNicoll.Johnny has been playing great, back in a Crusaders jersey.The attack has strengthened big time. Also looking forward to David Havili at 10. David is a class act, it also allows Dallas McLeod to remain at 12. A good thing.
1 Go to commentsIf he had stopped insisting on playing in the backrow, instead of wing, where everyone told him he should, he would have been a Bok years ago….
11 Go to comments‘Salads don’t win scrums’ 😂 I love that.
19 Go to commentsCan’t wait for the article that talks about misogyny in Ireland. Somehow.
16 Go to commentsI would like to see a rule change, when the attacking team is held up over the try line, by allowing the defensive team to restart a goal line drop out releases the pressure for the defensive team, but what if the attacking team had to restart a tap 5m out from the defensive team it gives the attacking team to apply more pressure, there are endless options for the attacking side and it will keep the fans in suspence.
2 Go to commentsLess modern South African males predictably triggered.
16 Go to commentsMy heart is with Quins, but the head is convinced Toulouse have too much. Ntamack is back, his timing and wisdom has been missed.
1 Go to commentsWow, what a starting line up for the Sharks) Tasty up front,kremer vs Tshituka or venter …fiery ,,Lavannini ,,will he knobble etzebeth? Biggest game for belleau?
1 Go to commentsIt was rubbish to watch, Blues weren’t even present. Did what they had to do, nothing more. Should be better next week against canes.
1 Go to commentsI’ve just noticed that this match has an all-French refereeing team. Surely a game like this ought to have a neutral ref? Although looking at the BBC preview of the Saints game, Raynal is also down as reffing that - so there may be some confusion about who is reffing what.
1 Go to commentsIf Havili can play anywhere in the back line, why not first 5. #10.
11 Go to commentsThe dressing room had already left for their summer break before they ran out in Dublin that year, and that’s on the coach. Franco Smith has undoubtedly made progress, particularly their maul, developing squad players and increasing squad depth. And against a very tight budget too. That said they were too lightweight last year and got found out against both Toulon and Munster in consecutive games. Better this season so far but they’ve developed something of a slow start habit occasionally, most notably losing at home to Northampton who played them at their own game. Play offs will ultimately show whether there has been tangible progress on last year, or not…!
2 Go to commentsAustralian Rugby has been a disaster, by not incorporating learning from previous successful campaigns. QLD Reds 2011 - Waratahs 2014. Players, coaches and administrators appoint there representatives for scheduled meetings, organisation’s agreement’s assessments and correspondence. This why a unified Rugby Union under one entity works. Every Rugby nation has taken that path. Was most difficult in the Northern hemisphere with over 100 years of club rugby before the game become professional. Took a lot of humility for those unions to eventually work together.
7 Go to commentsThough Wilson’s sacking was pretty brutal, it wasn’t just down to that Leinster game; Glasgow had a lot of 2nd half collapses that season, in the URC and Europe, and only just scraped into the playoffs. Franco Smith has definitely been an improvement, some players are delivering far more than they did under Wilson.
2 Go to comments