Six areas to watch for England against Wales ahead of RWC squad being named
England and Wales are both set to get their Rugby World Cup preparations underway on Sunday, as they meet at Twickenham in the first of their warm-up games for the tournament in Japan next month.
The two sides have taken contrasting approaches to the game, with only a third of England’s starting XV typically considered to be among Eddie Jones’ favoured options, whilst Warren Gatland, more or less, has picked as strong a Welsh XV as is available to him.
This could well pre-empt a more rotated Wales side a week later in Cardiff for the return fixture, with England then going to a number of their more tried and tested players and combinations.
Regardless, there’s plenty to watch out for at Twickenham, especially with Jones set to announce his Rugby World Cup squad on Monday, and we have highlighted six areas particularly worthy of attention in this new-look England side.
Will Anthony Watson move into full-back?
With Mike Brown reportedly left out of the latest England squad because of a training ground altercation with Ben Te’o, there is even more riding on Watson being able to take on the full-back duties should Elliot Daly go down with injury.
Watson has excelled in the role at club level with Bath but has played the position less than a handful of times under Jones. If fit, Watson is a certainty to be in the 31-man squad and any interchanging with Daly on Sunday would give him the opportunity to ease any possible concerns Jones has over the 15 jersey.
Combination of Tom Curry and Lewis Ludlam
Having played at seven for the entirety of his England career so far, Curry was all set to move across to six to accommodate Underhill, although a late change has seen Ludlam come in for the Bath man and Curry will continue to play on the openside. Can these two thrive together in the same unit?
The numbers on the back of the jersey don’t mean as much as the balance in the loose forwards, but it’ll be interesting to see who packs down on the openside at scrum time, with Ludlam potentially providing an extra yard or two of pace. Curry will have seniority, although Jones has form for players playing in positions different to the one indicated on their back.
Willi Heinz’s debut
If there is one persistent critique of Jones’ tenure with England, it’s his management of the scrum-half situation. Despite being 32 years of age and having been in England since 2015, this is Heinz’s first international cap.
Jones may well take just two scrum-halves to the Rugby World Cup, something he previously opted to do with Australia and Japan, as well as in multiple international windows with England. A strong showing from Heinz against Wales could see off the challenge of Ben Spencer.
Bench impact of Jack Singleton and Joe Marchant
Both of these players will be making their debuts if they come off the bench and at least one of the two will be eyeing an unlikely bolter spot in the 31-man squad. Singleton, who has seemed to edge ahead of Tom Dunn lately, is a more likely squad member as the third hooker in the group.
As for Marchant, he would need to force his way passed Henry Slade and Jonathan Joseph to have a shot of making the squad, or at least perform so well as to raise the possibility of one of those two moving into 12 in the absence of Te’o. If Piers Francis impresses, Marchant’s chance would seem to be gone.
Lineout efficiency
No Jamie George or Maro Itoje and only bench spots for Courtney Lawes and George Kruis, the English lineout is going to be under extreme scrutiny on Sunday. There’s no doubt that Alun Wyn Jones will fancy his side’s chances of disrupting England at the set-piece.
The start is a good opportunity for Luke Cowan-Dickie to show that his throwing is sharp enough to compete with George for a spot in the XV in the bigger games and Charlie Ewels will need to be effective as a jumper, an area he usually prospers in, to have any hope of forcing his way into England’s established quartet of locks.
Is Ruaridh McConnochie a genuine bolter candidate or does Joe Cokanasiga cement a spot?
At the beginning of the season you may have laughed at the prospect of McConnochie making the RWC, but it has quickly turned into a very possible scenario. With Chris Ashton out, Nathan Earle injured and Jack Nowell in a race against time to be fit, suddenly a door is open in the back three.
Daly, Watson and Jonny May are surely inked into Jones’ squad, whilst Cokanasiga offers a unique skill set among England’s back three options, though the group is far from set in stone. A strong showing on Sunday could cement Cokanasiga into the group, leaving the former sevens star’s hopes of making the cut hanging on the fitness of Nowell.
Watch: England’s coaches speak to the press ahead of the game with Wales
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments