'They haven't scrummed against us yet' - Eddie Jones goads Pumas pack
Eddie Jones declared “hang on to your seats” as he lit the fuse for England’s pivotal World Cup group clash with Argentina on Saturday.
Jones has picked his strongest available starting XV for the Pool C showdown at Tokyo Stadium in pursuit of the victory that would propel his title challengers into the quarter-finals.
Marauding prop Mako Vunipola and tackle-busting wing Jack Nowell are poised to make their first appearances of the tournament after overcoming lengthy injury-enforced absences to secure places on the bench.
The only change to the side that launched the Webb Ellis Trophy quest with a bonus-point victory over Tonga is George Kruis replacing Courtney Lawes at lock.
For now Joe Marler has held off the challenge of Vunipola at loosehead and the Harlequin’s scrummaging expertise will be needed against Argentina after they hinted against France that their once-powerful set-piece has been restored.
Jones views the scrum as a cornerstone of English strength and predicts it will be a key battleground in Tokyo.
“It’s a part of the Argentinian culture. Like anything in life you can have dormant periods but when it’s a fabric of your rugby it’s quite easy to reignite,” Jones said.
“Mario Ledesma (the Argentina coach) has done that particularly well. It’ll be a massive test on Saturday.
It could get messy for Argentina's front row.??? #ENGvARG #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/erJuv1fOka
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 2, 2019
“They haven’t scrummed against us yet and we believe our scrum can be a real weapon for us, so hang on to your seats.
“They’re an interesting team, a strong team. We know that Argentina are at their best at World Cups. We respect them very greatly.”
Vunipola and Nowell missed the Pool C victories over Tonga and USA because of respective hamstring and ankle injuries but have been passed fit for the first major test of the group phase.
ICYMI #engvarg #rwc2019 https://t.co/Imb8YSQfuF
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 3, 2019
Vunipola, the game’s foremost loosehead, has played just 17 minutes of rugby since May 11 after his comeback against Ireland during the warm-up Tests was aborted when he damaged the scar tissue on his hamstring.
Nowell has not played since his blockbusting performance for Exeter in last season’s Gallagher Premiership final but is present on the bench where he will be unleashed as a hard-running impact substitute.
The England centre believes he may be too old to feature at the 2023 Rugby World Cup. #RWC2019 https://t.co/ehrcoKXGFU
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 1, 2019
“Mako and Jack were still some way off but they trained really well yesterday,” Jones said.
“If they hadn’t trained as well yesterday we probably wouldn’t have picked them in the 23, but they showed they’re fit enough to make a really significant contribution to our outfit on Saturday.”
After the pool’s two weakest teams were swatted aside, Eddie Jones has picked his strongest available side, with playmakers George Ford and Owen Farrell fielded in tandem inside Manu Tuilagi.
Tuilagi was a marauding presence against Tonga, scoring two tries in a man-of-the-match performance, but was rested for the USA clash.
Jones has opted for the openside flanker combination of Tom Curry and Sam Underhill, the duo he dubbed ‘Kamikaze Kids’, in the back row with Lewis Ludlam deputising on the bench.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The URC and the Euro Championscup can’t run at the same time, basically dilutes both competitions.
1 Go to comments“While Sotutu should start at No.8 for the All Blacks against England, but it’s only in that arena that he can prove just how good he really is.” And that my friends is where simply hasnt shone despite multiple opportunities. Even in this performance you can see what did him in in the test arena..he almost always still runs at the opposition almost ramrod upright making him easier to stop than it should be.
1 Go to commentsShould have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
3 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
3 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
3 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to comments