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Time for England to stick and unleash attack - Andy Goode

By Andy Goode
England coach Eddie Jones and fly-half Owen Farrell

England have shown heart, fight and dogged defence but now it’s time to unleash the attack and stick rather than twist in terms of selection.

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If Sam Underhill’s try hadn’t been disallowed and England had beaten the All Blacks last week, I think more front line players would’ve got a rest this week but momentum is huge in sport and Eddie Jones wants to make a statement so I don’t think there’ll be as many changes as people might have been expecting.

There will be some players rested because four high intensity Test matches in as many weeks is a tough ask but I don’t think there’ll be as many changes as there might have been in previous years for a game such as this one because of the injury list and where England are at right now.

I’d like to see Alex Lozowski come straight back in and start now that he’s available again. He might have been banned for the past four weeks but if Ben Te’o can start against South Africa after half an hour of Premiership rugby this season, he’s more than ready to go from the first whistle.

I think having a second ball player at inside centre, as well as Henry Slade at outside centre, would really help the fluency of England’s attack and Lozowski’s relationship with Owen Farrell at club level counts in his favour as well so I hope he’s given an opportunity.

Alex Lozowski
England centre Alex Lozowski. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images).

If Manu Tuilagi was 100 per cent fit I’d have him back in and starting but there’s no point risking him against Japan if he’s not quite right.

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Jamie George got some stick after losing five lineouts last week but there’s more to that than meets the eye. Most were more to do with the calls than his accuracy, so it’d be good to see him given the chance to show what he can do again from the start.

Starting four weeks in a row at tighthead is tough and Nick Schonert has been called into the 30-man squad named earlier in the week, so I’d give Kyle Sinckler the week off. His bank manager might not be too happy about it but that’s a different story.

I think Maro Itoje would’ve been rested if it hadn’t been for George Kruis’ injury but there needs to be some consistency in the engine room so I think he’ll be rolled out again alongside Courtney Lawes and then maybe brought off early.

Sam Underhill was phenomenal last week and Mark Wilson has been a standout performer in both of the first two games so they should continue and it was strange to see Zach Mercer left out completely against the All Blacks after such a good debut so I think he comes back in at number eight.

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There are some players who can afford to be rested, such as Jonny May, who has been brilliant recently and can be wrapped up in cotton wool for next week. However, other front line players need to start in order to ensure that England keep progressing and building on what they’ve done in the past couple of weeks.

Eddie Jones is a big fan of Joe Cokanasiga and he could make a big impact with his size and speed between now and the World Cup, so I’d like to see him given a chance but probably from the bench because Jack Nowell and Chris Ashton deserve starting places.

Andy Goode’s England team to face Japan

15 Elliot Daly

14 Jack Nowell

13 Henry Slade

12 Alex Lozowski

11 Chris Ashton

10 Owen Farrell

9 Danny Care

1 Ben Moon

2 Jamie George

3 Harry Williams

4 Maro Itoje

5 Courtney Lawes

6 Mark Wilson

7 Sam Underhill

8 Zach Mercer

16 Dylan Hartley

17 Alec Hepburn

18 Nick Schonert

19 Charlie Ewels

20 Brad Shields

21 Ben Youngs

22 George Ford

23 Joe Cokanasiga

England defence coach John Mitchell. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

There’s no getting away from it, 2018 has been a poor year for England but the performances of the past couple of weeks against two of the best teams in the world have shown real heart, bottle and a return to the intensity that the side was showing when they won 18 games in a row.

John Mitchell’s come in and we’ve defended with aggression, line speed and intensity. He deserves credit for that but raising your game to face the top two teams in the world has something to do with it as well.

From what I hear from speaking to those around the camp, the level of intensity at training has dropped at times so that the players have a bit more energy and bite when it comes to Saturday afternoon.

In the Six Nations earlier in the year England players looked low on energy and it almost appeared like they were struggling with the physicality because they’d clearly been overtrained. That’s changed this autumn and it’s showing in the ability to repeat intense defensive sets against the best teams in the world.

Clearly, it’ll be a different prospect against Japan but it’s often tricky when you’re expected to rack up a load of points against a team so England need to keep their heads, not force things, focus on performance and put their plans into action. The tries and the result will come.

The foundations have been laid with defence and intensity and now It’s time for England’s attack to shine. They scored some great tries under Scott Wisemantel on tour in South Africa in the summer and they managed a couple against the number one team in the world last week but they also failed to score a point after the 25th minute.

Everyone’s craving a performance in attack that sees the shackles taken off and players able to go and express themselves, the kind of display we haven’t really seen from England since they put 61 points on Scotland in 2017. Saturday should provide the perfect opportunity to show they still have that ability in their locker.

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J
Jon 43 minutes 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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j
john 3 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.

15 Go to comments
A
Adrian 5 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

15 Go to comments
T
Trevor 8 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
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