Puja wrote:
I do hope Marchant is fit to play though. Him and Slade as a 12-13 is something that I was really looking forward to seeing again and it'd be a true test of the partnership to see if they were viable in a rainy day in Scotland.
Puja
I can only think Marchant has been retained with the idea that if he gets out of isolation by Thursday he’ll be starting. Can’t see why you’d keep in the squad otherwise.
Yeah, we'll need a winger if Nowell's gonna be playing 13...
Puja
Well we could listen to Nick Easter. Someone in squad is like a bigger version of Nowell, so maybe he could play 13.
Oakboy wrote:Some talk of Ford starting too - which sounds like a 'scared we might lose' sort of motivation.
....or having the ambition to win, in other words
I just hope the mood in camp is totally positive and Jones gets them firing from the off. There have been a few dithery, weak starts. Ford just kicking it up in the air introduces negativity, IMO, if that's the chosen bad weather strategy.
Tom Curry backed to fill Owen Farrell’s shoes in Eddie Jones’ least experienced Six Nations side
Tom Curry has been backed to become England’s youngest Test captain since Will Carling, with Eddie Jones poised to announce his most inexperienced Six Nations team on Thursday.
Curry, the Sale Sharks flanker, is widely expected to be unveiled as England’s captain for the Calcutta Cup clash against Scotland on Saturday in the absence of the injured Owen Farrell and Courtney Lawes, who is recovering from concussion.
At 23, Curry would be England’s youngest captain since 22-year-old Carling was appointed captain in 1988 and would lead a side missing many of their senior campaigners heading to Murrayfield.
According to Alex Sanderson, the Sale director of rugby, Curry’s leadership qualities bear a striking resemblance to Farrell. He also believes they are ideally suited to the international environment because Curry’s intensity levels can burn out his team-mates at club level. “The depths of his energy are fathomless,” Sanderson said. “That is his biggest attribute. When he comes back in, the intensity and level of training rises. That is one man having an influence on 40 others around him.
“He is 23 years old, and with the potential and the mastery of the game that he has got, this is one of those things; how can he get better? This is the one area in terms of leadership where he can make strides as he gets more experienced and this is the natural progression for him.”
Sanderson also coached Farrell for several years at Saracens and sees a lot in common between the pair. “Tom shares Owen’s virtues,” Sanderson said. “He is his own toughest critic. They are not difficult to manage but very challenging. What they want out of a session or a game, in terms of the standards and levels they set, could be beyond the majority of the group. What is good for them is too much for most, so there is a constant communication about what is needed for the group.
“If you couldn’t give them a reason why or how or make them understand the reasons for whatever you were doing then you were not worth your salt as a coach. They don’t coast through a session, either of them. They have never rocked up and thought, ‘I will get through this today’. If you have not improved then that’s your fault as a coach and I enjoy that kind of challenge.”
Forwards coach Matt Proudfoot this week said that the wet and windy conditions expected at Murrayfield places a premium upon experience which may swing selection decisions towards Lewis Ludlam in the back row and Elliot Daly, who is being considered by head coach Jones at outside centre.
Joe Marchant will undergo a Covid test on Thursday morning to confirm whether he is available to join the Test squad, but his lack of training minutes may count against him while there are also doubts around the fitness of wing Max Malins.
'Manu Tuilagi may return for England against Italy'
Sanderson was able to deliver more positive news on centre Manu Tuilagi, who is expected to feature in a match-day squad this weekend for Sale against Harlequins for the first time since injuring his hamstring against South Africa in the autumn.
“He is training and looking good, but we think it is too much of a risk to push him this weekend,” Sanderson said. “Harlequins is the projected return and then we will see how he feels for the Six Nations.
“It is a week-to-week thing for Manu, but England have total autonomy over when he plays and doesn’t play and if he looks good and feels good, he will go straight through to England and it could be Italy.”
Farrell and Lawes have a combined 195 caps, while Jones is also missing several other senior stalwarts including Tuilagi, Jonny May, Anthony Watson, Sam Underhilll and Jonny Hill. Only four players – Ben Youngs, Maro Itoje, Jamie George and George Ford – have more than 50 caps and the latter two are far from guaranteed to start. In their place the likes of Marcus Smith and Freddie Steward are likely to make their first Six Nations debuts.
For full-back Steward, who has enjoyed a thus far impeccable international career, this will be his first Test outside of Twickenham. England have been working hard to prepare the new boys practising catching high balls soaked in water and discussing the atmosphere they are expecting at Murrayfield, meaning Steward is raring to test his mettle in a hostile environment.
“It’s definitely something I’m looking forward to,” Steward said. “I am nervous, but it’s not something I’m scared of. It’s something that’s very hard to replicate – that hostility from the crowd. It’s definitely going to be a new experience.
“We’re working really hard in the week trying to prepare ourselves mentally for that hostility and trying to make sure it doesn’t affect us. As a guy who’s not done it before it’s brilliant to hear from those boys about that experience, so when we arrive on Saturday it’s not something unfamiliar – you’ve heard about it and expect it.”
In a Murrayfield monsoon, should Jones switch from Smith to Ford?
By Charlie Morgan
Marcus Smith is the poster boy of “New England”, the concept that Eddie Jones has devised in a bid to banish memories of his team’s ghastly fifth-place finish in the Six Nations last year.
Smith has earned that standing, too. He possesses truly special intuition and a hot hand. Two months ago, from 26-24 behind, the 22-year-old fly-half asserted control of the final stages against South Africa.
There was an inevitability about the way he landed the match-winning penalty, and his script-writers have renewed their contracts for 2022. Already this year, he has engineered dramatic victories for Harlequins against Exeter Chiefs, Cardiff and Castres.
Smith operates with verve, but there is poise and pragmatism to his game as well. Early on against the Springboks, accurate kicking from hand guided England through some tense territorial exchanges. He is ready to lead his country into the Six Nations, no question. And yet, there is a case for Jones to perform a screeching U-turn. Few could protest if he opted to start George Ford.
Saturday will be the seventh Anglo-Scottish encounter of the Jones era. Lest we forget, the Australian’s tenure began at Murrayfield back in 2016. Jones started well enough, squeezing home 15-9 thanks to Jack Nowell’s try.
As Storm Ciara ripped through UK Ford produced a telling intervention
A year later, his team were rampant at Twickenham. England thrashed the Auld Enemy by 40 points. Since then, though, the fixture has produced decidedly more difficult afternoons. Indeed, Finn Russell is proving to be something of a nemesis for Jones.
Russell was the ringmaster as Scotland prevailed 25-13 in 2018 and inspired a captivating comeback the following year. Leading 31-0, England capitulated. They conceded 38 unanswered points. It took a replacement to spare total humiliation. Ford’s composure in the final minutes, culminating in his own converted try to tie up a Calcutta Cup epic at 38-38, was somewhat lost in a myriad other subplots.
England’s last trip to Edinburgh coincided with Storm Ciara ripping through the United Kingdom. An inevitably turgid match resulted. Ford endured tricky moments, but produced a telling intervention with 12 minutes to go.
From a scrum just beyond Scotland’s 10-metre line, he dinked over Scotland’s back line. Initially, the kick looked reasonably nondescript, even aimless. Then it bobbled between Blair Kinghorn and Stuart Hogg. It bobbled again. England’s centres, Owen Farrell and Jonathan Joseph, were catching up. Hogg dithered and almost collided with a post. Ultimately, the Scotland captain was fortunate only to give up a five-metre scrum after smothering the ball into the sodden turf. England capitalised.
On the back of another scrum, Ellis Genge emerged from a pile of bodies. His pick-and-go score split the teams. Ford had been the architect. The next year, though, he was back on the bench again. Only in the 69th minute did Jones call upon him, and Scotland stormed Twickenham for the first time in 38 years.
Having lost Farrell, Jonny May and Courtney Lawes – not to mention others such as Joe Launchbury – Jones is without three experienced figures to have survived the first “New England” cull. Scotland are buoyant, and there is a sense that England will need a Murrayfield smash-and-grab to eke out momentum at the start of this Championship. Being able to whisk in Ford, who has 77 caps, is a boon. That said, know-how would not be the only reason to start the Leicester Tiger.
Smith may have what is needed, Ford definitely has it
Ford was the fall-guy last September, apparently cast out of England’s plans so that Smith and Farrell would be clear to conduct the attack. Jones always says the door is never shut on those that are exiled. Ford responded brilliantly. Many factors have driven Leicester’s remarkable campaign to date. None have been more significant than the continued availability of Ford, who has steered them expertly.
According to Opta, Ford is averaging just over 24 kicks from hand per game this season, making an average of 553 metres with the boot. Smith, on the other hand, averages just over 14 kicks, making 191 metres. While that is obviously an illustration of the tactical differences between Leicester and Harlequins, it demonstrates that Ford could be the horse for this course.
Because the going will be tough. Rain is forecast again, and Ford’s array of kicks is hugely awkward for opponents. In Leicester’s recent win over Bordeaux, he was masterful in this regard. Smith, the Six Nations rookie, may well have this in his locker as well. It is just that Ford definitely does.
Oakboy wrote:Some talk of Ford starting too - which sounds like a 'scared we might lose' sort of motivation.
....or having the ambition to win, in other words
I just hope the mood in camp is totally positive and Jones gets them firing from the off. There have been a few dithery, weak starts. Ford just kicking it up in the air introduces negativity, IMO, if that's the chosen bad weather strategy.
Bad weather/conditions means territory is key. I’d start Smith to see how he’d do that, as it’s a necessity sometimes. But it will all be about the set piece and discipline I’d think.
Banquo wrote:
....or having the ambition to win, in other words
I just hope the mood in camp is totally positive and Jones gets them firing from the off. There have been a few dithery, weak starts. Ford just kicking it up in the air introduces negativity, IMO, if that's the chosen bad weather strategy.
Bad weather/conditions means territory is key. I’d start Smith to see how he’d do that, as it’s a necessity sometimes. But it will all be about the set piece and discipline I’d think.
True. Not starting Smith hints at protecting him from feared consequences. It also loads Ford back in as scapegoat should things go wrong. Quite honestly, IF the strategy is positivity I don't think Ford starting is necessarily wrong. It's more about the long-term message.
Oakboy wrote:
I just hope the mood in camp is totally positive and Jones gets them firing from the off. There have been a few dithery, weak starts. Ford just kicking it up in the air introduces negativity, IMO, if that's the chosen bad weather strategy.
Bad weather/conditions means territory is key. I’d start Smith to see how he’d do that, as it’s a necessity sometimes. But it will all be about the set piece and discipline I’d think.
True. Not starting Smith hints at protecting him from feared consequences. It also loads Ford back in as scapegoat should things go wrong. Quite honestly, IF the strategy is positivity I don't think Ford starting is necessarily wrong. It's more about the long-term message.
Agreed. I still consider Ford to be (just) the better 10 of the two as things stand and, in hurricane conditions, the gap grows significantly, but if we're going to have Smith as a viable England 10 option, then we can't be dropping him every time there's a bit of rain. He's either good enough to cope or he isn't.
Banquo wrote:
Bad weather/conditions means territory is key. I’d start Smith to see how he’d do that, as it’s a necessity sometimes. But it will all be about the set piece and discipline I’d think.
True. Not starting Smith hints at protecting him from feared consequences. It also loads Ford back in as scapegoat should things go wrong. Quite honestly, IF the strategy is positivity I don't think Ford starting is necessarily wrong. It's more about the long-term message.
Agreed. I still consider Ford to be (just) the better 10 of the two as things stand and, in hurricane conditions, the gap grows significantly, but if we're going to have Smith as a viable England 10 option, then we can't be dropping him every time there's a bit of rain. He's either good enough to cope or he isn't.
Puja
Yep. It’s pointless investing in Smith (to the extent of dropping Ford) if we’re scared to play him when it’s raining.
I quite like that too, not too sure on Daly but that's a hell of a lot of footballers in the backs and a pair of flankers who have the work rate to let Simmonds do his thing.
Looks like a huge opportunity for Isiekwe to me, clearly he's impressed in training, hopefully he'll have a big game and make us feel a bit more comfortable about out 2nd row options.
I can only imagine the the Daly/Marchant thing is related to a combination of Marchant 》Daly under the highball and Daly 》Marchant passing. The margins are small though and should give both an opportunity to swap round and pop-up all over.
There's loads of ball players in the backs and loads of mobility in the forwards so, hopefully Smith is in for quick ball, although Scotland have trounced us at the breakdown a fair few times over the years...
I just hope the mood in camp is totally positive and Jones gets them firing from the off. There have been a few dithery, weak starts. Ford just kicking it up in the air introduces negativity, IMO, if that's the chosen bad weather strategy.
