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The Nowell plan to kill time waiting for 'latest ever kick-off'
Rejuvenated England winger Jack Nowell has explained how he will manage his time waiting around for the late 9pm Parisian kick-off time versus France in Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations finale. It’s a late-night start that the soon-to-be 29-year-old claims he hasn’t encountered before and while he enjoyed scrummaging with the forwards during last Saturday’s game versus Ireland, he won’t be heading out for an early morning hit-out with the pack.
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Eddie Jones has spoken a lot in recent years about developing hybrid players, getting forwards to play as backs and vice-versa, and this was seen in action in last weekend’s Guinness Six Nations round four game at Twicenkham where winger Nowell packed down as a flanker in the scrum following the 82nd-second red card copped by lock Charlie Ewels.
Nowell enjoyed himself as a fleeting forward but he won’t be an early riser in Paris to join in with the England pack’s usual matchday routine which normally involves a breakfast time gym hit-out to get the blood pumping early.
“Definitely not,” he quipped when asked if he would be hanging out the forwards when they set about their game-day preparations in France. “They are normally scrummaging and mauling at eight o’clock in the morning, I don’t know what they get up to.
“I was just happy doing a bit of crossbar challenge on Wednesday and stuff like that with the backs, so it wasn’t too bad. But no, we have all been in this situation before of later kick-offs. Everyone is different and it’s more of an individual thing but we are lucky enough to have everything set up here and ready to go for us.
“It’s the latest kick-off I have ever been involved in but I actually don’t mind it. I quite like having a lot of time in the day. Other boys are different. Some wake up and just get on with it straight away. If I am honest I will sleep – I like to sleep before the game. I will probably wake up, do my normal stuff in the morning and then head back to bed for a couple of hours sleep before I start getting fired up.
“Obviously, for us, everything is set. Our timings will all be the same but just moved back a few hours. Our daily routine is set up well by our S&C boys. Once you get to that certain time in the day it will roll into the same if it was a three o’clock kick-off.”
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Nowell is taking his place this weekend in a recalibrated England back three. George Furbank has been chosen to start as the full-back for the first time since October 2020 while Freddie Steward, the No15 in the last nine matches, has been elbowed out to the right wing in place of the axed Max Malins. What does the Exeter player make of the reshuffle?
“You can’t take away from George. He has been training extremely well through this whole Six Nations. This will be the first time I have played with him, so it will be exciting for me. And it just gives Freddie something else to work on. You can get in the game a bit more from the wing and have that more of a free role. It’s a little mix up again but one I know Freddie is looking forward to getting stuck into as well.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The game was already over leave the bloke alone ….from a Welsh fan 😀👍
2 Go to commentsShamefully the Toulouse players acted like footballers, falling down feigning injury at the slightest knock. About time refs penalised this play acting.
5 Go to commentsAnother non Scot for the anti Scot Townsend. Soon there will be no Scottish born and bred players in the National team.
1 Go to commentsGreat comeback to the playing field by Richie Mo’unga after the loss of his father. A great performance by Richie . I know him well and he is a great guy. On and off the field one of the greatest for the Crusaders. Scott Robertson would have loved him in his All Black’s side. A very missed player and person.
1 Go to commentsYeah nah he comes across as a funny bloke, but that stopped abruptly after the Nutcracker Prince debacle✋
2 Go to commentsAt this point I can’t watch him without thinking he’s a dirty slimebag. He should have been banned for the same amount of time that Quinn was out. It took Tupaea near on a fricking year to get fit enough to play again and his leg will never be the same. The other crap thing is that he was at ABs level and now he has to claw his way back there when he could have had several games under his belt.
4 Go to commentsThe Black Ferns 7’s have been without Captain Sarah Hirini now since Dec 23 in Dubai where she suffered a bad ACL injury - hopefully she is on the road to recovery for Madrid and Paris. Now also have Tyler King and Shiray kaka on the Injured List but the Team still found a way to win in Singapore and claim the overall Title.
1 Go to commentsUtter grub, hope he gets his leg broken. Shocking he is still playing after intentionally breaking quinn tupaeas knee
4 Go to commentsGreat to see NZ 7s teams finally coming into form and playing at the level that is expected of them.
2 Go to commentsChief Cheapshot on the market again.
4 Go to commentsCrusaders went all in to buy Hotham and Kemara staight from Hamilton Boys. Then they picked up Reihana and Hohepa; all have been dropped for superstar Havili, who is a very good fullback, that’s it. Ennor and Goodhue were schoolboy stars too but went backwards at the Crusaders. Maybe they have finally decided to give another poach Levi Aumua the ball?
13 Go to commentsJoe S has some talent to pick from. The Reds loosies look the best in Super? Aus might just give Razor a headache this year. Int. experience v Cantab greenhorn:) Should be fun.
13 Go to commentsEnd to end play, “THE FANS” this game was entertainment of the best. The conditions added to the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsSorry to say, but sadly the sadas were just ordinary and havilli at 10 as an abs selection just won’t cut it. He’s better suited in the centre’s and is a victim of past charge down kicks, he’s too slow under pressure. There’s better talent further north and I don’t mean dmac however I believe razor will sort him out. A feature of his presents on the park is the fact that the guys will follow him.
13 Go to commentsMarler was brilliant throughout both in the scrum and open play. His slap made virtually no contact with Ramos who milked it for a penalty when he could have been a decent sportsman and laughed it off, it was non-violent and shouldn't have been penalised. Smith failed repeatedly to kick when necessary and put up a couple of bombs into the TLS 22 that just handed back possession at key moments to the other side.
3 Go to commentsCros was outstanding and rightly awarded France TVs player of the match award. Mallia was brilliant as usual (the y is below the 6 on a UK keyboard and he deserves better than that). Level also seems to have been scored harshly as he walked the ball into touch under pressure from a Lynagh kick from well outside his own half which should never have led to a 50-22. Agree with BullShark that Dupont, while class at times, seemed to go missing for patches in the second half with props, hookers and wings frequently filling in at 9 as he couldn't get off the deck and up to the next ruck on time. A 7 by his standards at best, his kicking was also too long, too often. Kinghorn's overall contribution was worth well more than a five.
5 Go to commentsThe Harlequins team must be in minus figures. Did the reporter actually watch the game?
5 Go to commentsHow on earth did Walker escape a red card? Not dangerous? Dupont has his face in a mask earlier this season. Shocking decision. What is the point of TMOs? We had the Fassi ‘non-penalty try’ yesterday and now this.
2 Go to commentsCould have been a different result but yet again French tv able to affect the result by not showing the very clear high shot on harlequin centre if this would have been on a French player would have been on screen at least five times
3 Go to commentsAmazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
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