World Cup countdown Squad and key dates
England squad v Wales
Backs
J Cokanasiga (Bath), E Daly
(Saracens), O Farrell (Saracens),
G Ford (Leicester), P Francis
(Northampton), W Heinz
(Gloucester), J Joseph (Bath),^
J Marchant (Harlequins), J May
(Leicester), R McConnochie
(Bath), H Slade (Exeter),
M Tuilagi (Leicester), A Watson
(Bath), B Youngs (Leicester).
Forwards
D Cole (Leicester), L Cowan-
Dickie (Exeter), T Curry (Sale), C
Ewels (Bath), E Genge (Leicester),
J George (Saracens), M Itoje(Saracens), G Kruis (Saracens),
J Launchbury (Wasps), C Lawes
(Northampton), L Ludlam
(Northampton), J Marler
(Harlequins), K Sinckler
(Harlequins), J Singleton
(Saracens), S Underhill (Bath),
B Vunipola (Saracens),
M Vunipola (Saracens),
H Williams (Exeter), M Wilson
(Newcastle/Sale).
For rehabilitation
J Nowell (Exeter).Sunday
v Wales (Twickenham, 2pm)
Monday31-man World Cup squad named
Aug 17
Wales v England (Principality
Stadium, 2.15pm)
Aug 24
England v Ireland (Twickenham,
3pm)
Aug 28
To Italy for warm-up camp
Sept 5
Return from Italy
Sept 6
England v Italy (St James’ Park,
7.45pm)
Sept 22
First World Cup game (v Tonga,
11.15am)given his leadership skills a lift,
but again Jones swaps any
psychobabble for a common-sense
approach as he describes the
coffees he is likely to share with
team-mates while in Japan and the
sort of support system players will
create for each other.
“Sometimes the biggest support
is that you can talk, everybody is
going through the same things, but
at different times, it could be a
missed wedding anniversary,
anything – it is not rocket science,
it is just a case of talking about it,”
he says.
He brings this same approach
into how his daughters have also
transformed his performancefor the better. “I don’t know if
becoming a father has made me a
better player, but it has given me a
greater appreciation for what I do,”
he says.
“Hopefully, it has made me
perform better, which is a different
thing to being a better player –
having that responsibility makes
rugby the outlet, so I get the
opportunity to really express
myself at rugby.
“Mali and Efa have enabled me
to focus on something else.”Alun Wyn Jones is a Dove Men+Care
ambassador. For more rugby stories,
follow @DovemenUK Twitter or
@Dovemen InstagramHeinz selection opens
up route to World Cup
By Charlie Morgan
Willi Heinz, the New Zealand-born
Gloucester scrum-half, took a
major step towards going to the
World Cup as back-up to Ben
Youngs when he was named by
Eddie Jones in England’s 33-man
squad for Sunday’s Test against
Wales at Twickenham.
Ben Spencer, the Saracens
scrum-half, has been left out, along
with Harlequins full-back Mike
Brown and back-rower Alex Dom-
brandt, and Worcester centre Ben
Te’o. Jack Nowell will continue his
rehabilitation with the group. Mako
Vunipola has been named in the
squad, who assembled at Pennyhill
Park on Tuesday, but is not in con-
tention to face Warren Gatland’s
side as he recovers from hamstring
surgery.
At the age of 32, Heinz is one of
only two scrum-halves in the 33.
Although Jones last month praised
the organisation that the former
Crusaders man could provide,
Heinz’s call-up shows the uncer-
tainty that has shrouded the scrum-
half position – and specifically the
role of deputy to Youngs – over the
past 18 months.
Heinz, who qualifies for England
through his late grandmother and
arrived at Kingsholm from
Christchurch in 2015, is a former
franchise team-mate of Richie Mc-
Caw and Dan Carter. A major pro-
tagonist in Gloucester’s run to the
Premiership play-offs last season,
he would become the seventh
scrum-half to feature in a full inter-
national under Jones and the fourth
to be handed a Test debut by the
Australian after Jack Maunder in
2017, Spencer in 2018 and Dan Rob-
son in 2019.
Danny Care, cast aside after win-
ning his 84th cap against Japan last
November, and Richard Wiggles-
worth, are the other two No 9s to
have been selected by Jones in
Tests. The former was a key figure
in England’s success between 2016
and 2017 and one of Jones’s flagship
“finishers” from the bench, but has
fallen out of favour. Despite Spen-
cer’s prominent role in a trophy-
laden period for Saracens, he has
had to make do with three brief
replacement appearances, account-ing for an aggregate of just 20 min-
utes since the 2018 tour of South
Africa. His only involvement in the
2019 Six Nations was to join a hel-
ter-skelter Calcutta Cup encounter
in the 73rd minute after Scotland
had levelled the game at 31-31.
Heinz, meanwhile, was heralded as
an “outstanding” domestic per-
former by Jones, who selected him
for a training camp back in 2017.
“We had a look at [Heinz] a cou-
ple of years ago,” Jones said last
month. “He had a couple of injuries
so we let it slide for a while. We just
feel at the end of the game, poten-
tially we need a half-back who can
really organise a team and he’s very
good at that.”
Jones has picked four more
potential Test debutants. Bath wing
Ruaridh McConnochie, a former
England and Team GB sevens
player, has been earmarked as aresourceful and athletic “utility”
player capable of filling in across
the back three. Harlequins centre
Joe Marchant shone for England in
an uncapped 51-43 win over the
Barbarians at the start of June.
Elsewhere, Jack Singleton of Sar-
acens ousts Tom Dunn of Bath as
one of three hookers, presumably
behind Jamie George and Luke
Cowan-Dickie. Finally, versatile
Northampton back-rower Lewis
Ludlam beats out Dombrandt in the
absence of the injured Brad Shields.
Ludlam attended the Barbarians
week as training cover for club col-
league Teimana Harrison, whose
partner had given birth. Although
23-year-old Ludlam did not feature
at Twickenham, apart from as a
designated 24th man carrying
drinks, his attitude impressed
Jones. He has been an ever-present
of England’s pre-World Cup sched-
ule. Another Saint, Piers Francis,
seems to be the major and most
immediate beneficiary of Te’o’s
exclusion. A specialist inside cen-
tre, he joins three regular outside
centres in Henry Slade, Jonathan
Joseph and Marchant. Manu Tuil-
agi, who wore 12 during this year’s
Six Nations, makes up the midfield
options. Jones did suggest that
omission from this squad would not
rule anyone out of Monday’s official
31-man World Cup squad, who will
play three more warm-up games.
“We have worked hard and now
move into a four-game preparation
phase,” he said. “The development
of the team tactically is paramount.
We are grateful for the strong oppo-
sition to test our game fitness.
“By the time we fly out on Sept 8,
we will be ready to win the Rugby
World Cup. We are not there yet,
but we have four games to get
ready. Players excluded from being
involved in this camp are naturally
disappointed but may get another
opportunity, so they must be ready.”
Having won 18 England caps and
toured New Zealand with the Brit-
ish and Irish Lions in 2017, Te’o still
would be a surprise absentee from
the World Cup party. Although
Brown has amassed 29 England
appearances since the start of 2016,
the emergence of Elliot Daly and
the recovery of Anthony Watson
would appear to make the 33-year-
old’s inclusion appear less likely.people’s lives’
Opportunity knocks: Willi Heinz is a
strong contender for England’s final 31Nine lives Scrum-halves
in the Jones era
Name Minutes Games
Ben Youngs 1,941 33
Danny Care 1,053 31
Richard Wigglesworth 143 6
Dan Robson 30 2
Ben Spencer 20 3
Jack Maunder 3 1
Willi Heinz 0 0The Daily Telegraph Wednesday 7 August 2019 *** 17
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