Eddie Jones has named the England team to face France at Twickenham this weekend.
15. Mike Brown (vice captain, Harlequins, 55 caps)
14. Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, 22 caps)
13. Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby, 29 caps)
12. Owen Farrell (vice captain, Saracens, 47 caps)
11. Elliot Daly (Wasps, 8 caps)
10. George Ford (Bath Rugby, 30 caps)
9. Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 65 caps)
1. Joe Marler (Harlequins, 46 caps)
2. Dylan Hartley (captain, Northampton Saints, 79 caps)
3. Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 69 caps)
4. Joe Launchbury (Wasps, 37 caps)
5. Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 53 caps)
6. Maro Itoje (Saracens, 7 caps)
7. Tom Wood (Northampton Saints, 45 caps)
8. Nathan Hughes (Wasps, 3 caps)
Replacements
16. Jamie George (Saracens, 12 caps)
17. Matt Mullan (Wasps, 13 caps)
18. Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins, 4 caps)
19. Teimana Harrison (Northampton Saints, 5 caps)
20. James Haskell (Wasps, 70 caps)
21. Danny Care (Harlequins, 66 caps)
22. Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors, 3 caps)
23. Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs, 18 caps)
How do you think this side will fare?
Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images
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No 2nd row cover aside from an Itoje positional switch given England’s luck (or lack thereof) with injuries at the moment is a daunting thought indeed.
Hoooo well, in Eddie we trust!
This is something that Sarries do regularly. Have two back rowers on the bench and switch Itoje to second row when required. Haskell and Harrison have both played across the back row, so the cover should be ok.
Hmmm….think I would still prefer second row cover on the bench over Harrison (really not sure what EJ sees in him)
Charlie Ewels can play back row as well can’t he?
Agree re Harrison…
Ewels has played 8 a couple of times for Bath i believe, but not regular backrow.
We’ve got Jonny May, and his incredible scrummaging technique, to cover flanker as well, definitely space on the bench for a second row.
LMAO :0)
I would definitely rather see someone other than Harrison on the bench. Don’t even know why he’s still in the squad? Ewels, Attwood, Armand, Beaumont? Any of these would’ve been better.
I’m not sure why Harrison is kept in, it’s a strange one as he has never really looked like cutting it. I’m a fan of his and I was calling for him to get a chance in Aus but in all of his caps he has looked a level below what’s needed. Let’s hope he proves us wrong and Eddie right!
Beaumont is definitely someone that I’d love to see get a chance, really intelligent rugby player.
Ewers seems to have gone off the boil a little, I haven’t seen a big game from him in some time. I remember him coming on the scene with explosive carrying and big hits. Or have I just missed his best recent performances?
Nowell on the bench, interesting
Strange to see Nowell on the bench given Daly’s last outing on the left wing didn’t end too well. Hope he’s done plenty of positional/timing training etc!? Also May on right wing. Not his usual position either?
Apparently Nowell had to miss training on Tuesday/Wednesday due to personal reasons so I think Daly coming in on the wing was in part a forced change
Ah yes, I remember reading that somewhere now. Well Daly is a good player, and more than capable of playing on the left wing. It also means that our back line is very versatile. Daly, May and Nowell have all played wing, centre and fullback at club level. Brown has covered left wing for England. Joseph can cover wing and Farrell can cover, 10, 12 or 13. Quite impressive really.
Not sure on Daly over Nowell. His first cap on the wing showed a lot of promise, he had a lot of freedom and popped up all over the place, second cap and the clumsy/reckless challenge highlights the risks of being in unfamiliar positions. But, if there is something else that has forced the decision then it’s understandable.
With Kruis out I think I would have preferred Itoje back into the second row (or Ewels retained) to have second row cover from the bench. I’m sure the French will bring fresh legs on at some point and we can’t really counter that directly.
Somewhat surprised to see Mullan on the bench. I understand that he has been around the squad for a while, but both Catt and Genge do appear to be in better form at the moment (although Genge’s scrum work may count against him).
I think Genge is just as good in the tight as Mullan who I don’t rate at all. Just hope that Marler is genuinely fit and can do at least an hour. I would have Howell instead of Daly given recent form.
Surprised you think Genge’s scrum work may count against him? What makes you say that?
Each time I’ve seen him play he looks brilliant in the scrum, I’d actually say it looks like out of his strong points. The only question with Genge is temperament and consistency. If he can prove both of those then we will be an England stalwart for many years.