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'Tasty' - England gearing up for full bore training match with Georgia

By Online Editors
Georgia and England training today in Oxford

England will engage in a full-bore training-ground game against Georgia on Thursday as they look to regroup from their Guinness Six Nations defeat by Wales.

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Eddie Jones is holding a three-day camp in Oxford to prepare for the clash with Italy on March 9 and the sessions are being conducted against feared scrummagers Georgia.

It will culminate in a 20-minute match scenario including live scrums and a contest for the ball to be refereed by Wayne Barnes with the players wearing padded suits for protection.

Georgia head coach Milton Haig views the time spent in Oxford as vital to Los Lelos’ development and has promised a “tasty” clash – a prospect being relished by England defence coach John Mitchell.

Mitchell said: “Our training with Georgia has been contestable and you like to win your contests!

“It creates a really good mental focus. Competition is good for everyone. Sometimes you can drill all you like but when you put it into a contest…..

England Training – Clifton Rugby Club
John Mitchell relished the opportunity of a competitive training session with Georgia (Ben Birchall/PA)

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“Georgia are very set-piece orientated, they love scrummaging and they love line-out drives.

“Their backs have always been handy too, so both sides got a lot out of it this (Wednesday) morning. Tomorrow there will be intensity and there will be match scenarios.”

Georgia are ranked 12th in the world but outside the World Cup they are denied the opportunity to play tier-one nations, hampering their progress.

Training with England for the second time in as many years therefore offers an important yardstick with the World Cup looming in the autumn.

Ireland v England – Guinness Six Nations – Aviva Stadium
Maro Itoje (left) and Jonny May are set to play for England at the weekend after knocks (Lorraine O’Sullivan/PA)

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“This is a big occasion for some of our guys – they’re testing themselves against some of the best players in the world. It’s a really good opportunity for us,” Haig said.

“We used last year’s hit out as bit of a measurement and we’ve referred back to it a lot.

“The England boys play it aggressive, which surprises some of our guys. I say to them ‘you’re now operating at this level’.”

England are seeking to nudge their Six Nations back on track after a 21-13 defeat in Cardiff left Wales as the only team capable of winning the Grand Slam.

England Training – Clifton College
John Mitchell is keen to get back on track after the defeat to Wales (Ben Birchall/PA)

“That was a game that was there to be won. We had every opportunity to win and congratulations to Wales, they won the arm wrestle,” Mitchell said.

“It was a cracking Test match. It was a proper Test. What we need to focus on now is getting better and learning from that performance.

“There’s not a lot you really need to tweak because we have a particular way that we believe in. Clearly our strategy will improve because of the game in Cardiff.

“Wales have done us a huge favour in many ways because they have made us acutely aware of what we must fix. We need to do that as quickly as possible.”

Wing Jonny May and lock Maro Itoje are on course to play against Italy as they recover from their respective concussion and knee issues.

Press Association Sport

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Jon 8 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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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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