(^) Daily Mail, Friday, August 23, 2019
86 RUGBY WORLD CUP COUNTDOWN
EDDIE’S KA
by CHRIS FOY
Rugby Correspondent
combat skills together.
‘We compete all the time,’
said Underhill. ‘In training, I am
looking at him and thinking, “I am
trying to beat him, to get on the ball
more than him”. He is probably think-
ing the same thing, “I want to beat you
because I want the seven shirt”.
‘The key for the two of us is main-
taining that level of competition when
we are on the same team, but I think
we will drive each other and compete
with each other because deep down
we are still just two schoolkids.’
As if to prove the point, Underhill
joked that 20-year-old Curry ‘takes
pride in being quite annoying’. In
response, the younger man, whose
sleep-walking habit has become a
E
DDIE JONES will unleash his
back-row ‘kamikaze kids’
against Ireland at Twicken-
ham tomorrow, armed with a
resounding and decidedly
non-PC endorsement of their ability
to wreak havoc in tandem.
Tom Curry and Sam Underhill will join forces
as two specialist opensides in the same XV, to
reflect England’s sudden abundance of riches
in what was for so long a problem position.
Curry will wear the No 6 shirt with Underhill
operating at seven and their head coach
believes they can both have a big impact
tomorrow, then at the World Cup in Japan.
‘They are like the kamikaze kids,’ said Jones.
Asked why, he added: ‘Because they hit
everything that moves. But off the pitch,
they’re nice public schoolboys.’
Underhill has not played for England since
last November, with injury keeping him out of
this year’s Six Nations. He was supposed to
start against Wales in the first World Cup
warm-up on August 10, only to be withdrawn
after a slight knock in training.
The 23-year-old Bath player is evidently
relishing the chance to make his comeback —
so much so that he was quite willing to make
light of Jones’s new nickname.
‘I resent being thrown into that category
with Tom — he has injured far more people in
training than I have,’ he quipped. ‘He is
a nutter but a healthy disregard for
your own well-being is pretty essen-
tial so I’ll take it as a compliment.’
England expect the flankers to
complement each other, despite
usually occupying the same posi-
tion. Both will be asked to set a
ferocious tone in defence and give
England the edge at the break-
down. That should come naturally,
given how much they hone their
Jones’ fearless back-rowers Curry and
NOWELL MUST PROVE HE’LL
BE FIT FOR TONGA OPENER
JACK NOWELL faces a tense wait to
see if he will go to the World Cup.
The Exeter wing had hoped to
recover from ankle surgery in time
to play in the final warm-up match
against Italy. Coach Eddie Jones has
confirmed that Nowell won’t play
but must still prove he’ll be fit to
face Tonga on September 22. ‘We’re
confident he’ll be ready for the
World Cup, but we’re going to have
to know that he’s going to be fit for
the first two games,’ said Jones.
source of much hilarity within the
camp, argued that he and Underhill —
fresh from completing a 1,000-piece
jigsaw at the team base in Surrey —
‘are both branded as pretty weird’.
Whatever the personality traits which
cause amusement, their playing traits
are causing excitement.
‘You’ve got the Hooper-Pocock com-
bination for Australia that people talk
about but it’s me and Sam, so we’ve
got to work it out for ourselves,’ said
Curry. ‘We’ve trained against each
other, so I know what he’s about.
‘In terms of his carries, he’s a bit
more direct and physical, I’m a bit
more feet, hands and trying to spot
the gap. He’s a big chop tackler and
I’m more around the breakdown.’
Jones has opted to pick Curry at
blindside because he is marginally
the bigger and the coach said: ‘Physi-
cally, for a 20-year-old, he is incredible.
I haven’t seen a player like him.’
Jones suggested there is also prag-
matism behind the decision to start
the two men together, in response to
how rucks are being refereed.
‘There’s a lot more contest at the
breakdown,’ he said. ‘The tackler is
being allowed to stay in the tackle
which means the ability to poach has
increased. We’ll just have to adapt and
pick teams who can cope with this.’
Jones was matter of fact about the
decision to unite George Ford, captain
Owen Farrell and Manu Tuilagi in
midfield for the first time, calling it
‘just another selection strategy for us’.
But it is a strategy which could be
seen from the start of a World
Cup game.
THE GLOVES are off. Eddie Jones has
picked his best team and with Ireland
strong too this could be a great Test
match that could have serious
ramifications for the World Cup.
The honeymoon is over. This is a major
game for both teams. If you don’t
front up now, there will be question
marks leading into the World Cup.
Well done Eddie for this selection. It is
exactly the team I would have picked
for a must-win game at the
tournament. This is the first time he
has put his full strength side out in
these warm-up games — I think he’s
played his cards right.
Everyone going to Twickenham
tomorrow should be so excited — as I
am — to see this England team play.
They can do some real damage. This is
the team I have wanted to see for a
This is
me,’
I am
g, “I am
on the ball
He is
for
n-
r
25
ENGLAND’S win
percentage without
either Tom Curry or Sam
Underhill in the team (since
their debuts). England’s
win percentage with
Underhill is 77% and
with Curry it is
68%
CURRY
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