78
(^) Daily Mail, Friday, August 16, 2019
Rugby Union
CHRIS
FOY
Rugby
Correspondent
Eddie joins in
game of poker
NOW THAT Eddie Jones has
selected his World Cup squad
he must concentrate on how
England are going to play.
With that in mind I would like to
see George Ford spend at least
half an hour at scrum-half, with
Piers Francis at No 10.
That scenario could present
itself in the tournament, so
you have to experiment in the
preparatory games. By taking
only two scrum-halves — in Willi
Heinz and Ben Youngs — Eddie
has gambled so now is the time
to test the contingency plans.
After 60 minutes I would take
Heinz off, move Ford to No 9
and Francis to 10 and see how
they go.
I like seeing Jack Singleton, the
hooker, covering back-row as
Tom Curry and Sam Underhill
have knocks. Again, it could
happen at the tournament, so
trial it in a game where the
result does not matter.
At the World Cup you must be
confident that those guys can
step in so they must be tested
now. If they are not, the
situation could arise in Japan
and England will not be ready.
Also, this is the time for Eddie
to give England some tangible
playing targets. People get too
caught up with selection in
these warm-up games — it is
more about how you are going
to play in Japan. So these could
be the targets on Saturday:
1
To score one drop-goal in
either half, ideally one from
George Ford and one from
Elliot Daly. Or even better,
one every 20 minutes.
2
Can we win 100 per cent of
our own scrums, and disrupt
25 per cent of theirs?
3
Can we win 85 per cent of
our lineouts, and disrupt a
couple of theirs?
4
Can we take at least one
effective tap-and-go penalty,
quick 22-metre drop-out or
throw in?
This is now about preparing for
knockout rugby. Are England a
good enough team to make
these decisions in the pressure
environment? Can they hit
these targets? They should be
able to against Wales
tomorrow.
In this game it does not matter
if these do not come off, but
you have to try things in the
warm-up games.
The last thing to do now is talk
about winning the World Cup.
All you can look at is the next
game. It takes great discipline
— if people’s heads start
wondering you have already
lost. In principle it simplifies
your whole outlook, but it is
incredibly difficult.
If you just concentrate on that
the next game will eventually
be the World Cup final. Talk
about winning the thing when
you have won the semi-final.
Conversations about winning
the World Cup now are
irrelevant. Beating Wales —
that is all that should be on
Eddie and the team’s mind.
If they do they might become
the No 1 ranked team. To be
honest that would not mean a
whole lot, as the No 1 team
should not concede 38 points
to Scotland, and these rankings
are changing regularly with
New Zealand, Australia, South
Africa, Wales and Ireland all so
tightly packed.
Just keep winning the next
game and the World Cup will
take care of itself.
WORLD
CUP
WINNING
COACH
SIR CLIVE
WOODWARD
Now’s the time to test contingency plans for Japan
E
NGLAND continue
to hold back some
of their World Cup
aces, but they’re not
the only ones, amid
a global game of ‘poker’
ahead of the tournament
in Japan.
Eddie Jones yesterday named a
side featuring three starting
changes for the return warm-up
fixture against Wales in Cardiff
tomorrow, following last Sunday’s
33-19 Red Rose victory at Twick-
enham. Regular captain Owen
Farrell is among the replacements
and other leading lights are being
kept out of the firing line as Jones
carefully manages his resources.
where we want to be at our best.
Every team in the world right now
is trying different things.’
Maro Itoje has been recalled to
England’s starting pack, in a lock
partnership with Joe Launchbury.
He agreed that England and their
main rivals will wait to add layers
to their gameplan when the time
is right, out in Japan. ‘It’s the
same in any team — you are never
as advanced when you start as
when you finish,’ he said. ‘You
add detail as you go on.’
England have opted to embrace
the need for contingency plan-
ning earlier than they need to.
Having named a World Cup squad
of 31 on Monday, Jones has
responded to a series of minor
injuries among his flankers — Tom
Curry, Mark Wilson and Sam
Underhill — by tasking rookie
hooker Jack Singleton with provid-
ing back-row cover on the bench in
Cardiff tomorrow. It is part of a
policy of developing a squad awash
with hybrid English talent.
While Singleton is ready to ven-
ture out of his comfort zone if
required, Courtney Lawes will
again show his versatility by oper-
ating on the blindside flank.
George Ford is preparing to
step in as an emergency scrum-
half if the need arises at the World
Cup, and Joe Marler has been
primed to switch from loosehead
prop to tighthead if required.
Borthwick — who said that Wil-
son merely suffered a ‘bang in the
ribs’ — said: ‘You’ve got to adapt.
Jack Singleton has trained there
as a utility forward. It’s really
good practice for us.’
There is similar flexibility within
the Red Rose backs. Wisemantel
added: ‘Watson can play full-back
or wing, Elliot (Daly) can play
full-back, left wing and 13.
Ruaridh (McConnochie) can play
wing and full-back. Francis can
play 12 and 10. Ford yesterday
had a brief stint at nine. We’ve got
a lot different strategies there.
Hybrid is a good way to put it.’
Ford has been preparing for the
possibility of shifting out of his
familiar role and he explained the
importance of being ready for
such an eventuality.
‘Obviously it is going to happen
at some point,’ he said. ‘We are
not sure who or when, but some-
one is going to have to play out of
position for a period of a game.
‘From a nine, 10 point of view, a
lot of the skill-sets are the same.
I think we have got enough cover
for the worst-case scenario.’
In the Welsh camp Gatland has
made just three changes to his
strong starting XV from last week
— with Dan Biggar in for the
injured Gareth Anscombe, Jake
Ball swapping with Adam Beard
and James Davies starting at
flanker instead of Justin Tipuric.
Most of the leading nations are
doing the same; rotating their
players and trying not to give
away too much about their tacti-
cal plans. ‘It seems that teams
are holding something back,’ said
England’s attack coach, Scott
Wisemantel, when asked to assess
Australia’s demolition of the All
Blacks last weekend. ‘It’s like a
poker game at the moment. Eve-
ryone’s playing a few cards and
some nice hands every now and
then, but I don’t think everyone is
showing their full hand.’
Steve Borthwick, England’s for-
wards coach, emphasised the
desire to peak at the right time,
adding: ‘While you want to play
well and win, we are working
towards the World Cup. That’s
Big rivals:
Cokanasiga
barrels through
Biggar REUTERS
WHO’S ON TOP
OF THE WORLD?
EITHER England or Wales could
end the weekend the No 1
ranked team in the world.
Eddie Jones’s men need to beat
Wales in Cardiff by 16 points or
more and they will hit the
summit for the first time since
2004, regardless of New
Zealand’s result against
Australia.
However, if the All Blacks lose
their Bledisloe Cup clash in
Auckland, any England win will
take them top. That, though,
seems unlikely, as New Zealand
haven’t lost at Eden Park
since 1994.
For Wales, any win over
England and they will be top,
whatever the All Blacks do. If
New Zealand lose by more than
15 points on Saturday, they
could slip to sixth in the world
— their worst ever ranking.
LEADING LIGHTS RETURN AS...
Williams........... 15 ................... Daly
North ............... 14 .. McConnochie
Jon. Davies ...... 13 .............. Joseph
Parkes .............. 12 .............. Francis
Adams .............. 11 ...... Cokanasiga
Biggar .............. 10 .................. Ford
G Davies ............9 .................Heinz
Smith ................ 1 ................ Genge
Owens ...............2 ...Cowan-Dickie
Francis ..............3 ................... Cole
Ball ....................4 ..... Launchbury
Wyn Jones .......5 .................. Itoje
Wainwright ......6 ................Lawes
Moriarty ..........8 ........... Vunipola
Jamie Davies ...7 ............. Ludlam
TV: LIVE Sky Sports and Channel 4.
Referee: Pascal Gauzere (France).
Subs: Dee, Jones,
Lewis, Shingler,
Navidi, A Davies,
Evans, Watkin.
Subs: George,
Marler, Sinckler,
Kruis, Singleton,
Youngs, Farrell,
Tuilagi.
WALES v ENGLAND
2.15pm Principality Stadium