Billy Vunipola faces a decisive training session on Wednesday to determine whether he will be fit to start against Australia on Saturday, with Eddie Jones likely to name an unchanged starting XV if his No 8 comes through unscathed.
England have insisted that Vunipola, who suffered a twisted ankle against Argentina, is “very likely” to feature in the World Cup quarter-final but the defence coach, John Mitchell, later stated that the No 8 would “have to be 100% to be considered”.
Vunipola was on a restricted training programme on Tuesday – his activities included running, wrestling, boxing and cycling – but Jones will finalise his team after Wednesday’s full-blooded session before naming his side on Thursday, meaning that the player must demonstrate he is ready to face the Wallabies. “He will definitely have to be 100% to be considered,” said Mitchell. “Billy is progressing really well. He has trained again today so we are very confident in progression each day.” Asked to rate the chances of Vunipola facing Australia, Mitchell said: “Very likely.”
If he is fully involved in training and does not suffer any setbacks, Jones is expected to stick with the side who started the 39‑10 pool-stage win over the Pumas. That would mean Joe Marler keeping his place having recovered from the back injury that would have ruled him out of last Saturday’s cancelled match against France. Mako Vunipola, who has not started a match since May because of a hamstring injury, is likely to be on the bench.
Billy Vunipola is the only player to start all 12 of England’s Tests this year so his availability would come as a huge boost to Jones, who has a record of six successive wins against Australia since taking over. Vunipola has suggested recently he has not performed at his maximum level of late, but Mitchell expressed confidence he will make an impact if selected against the Wallabies.
“He’s going well. Like any player, he wants to play better. He’s having to make a couple of little adjustments in his game, because players obviously start to read you in terms of what you do. He’s at a very optimal body weight. The last campaign, it was too extreme, whereas at the minute he’s at an optimal stage. If he loses too much weight, it’s not ideal for him.”
If Vunipola does not start England have no like-for-like replacement, with either Mark Wilson or Tom Curry in line to fill the void at No 8. That could see Courtney Lawes come into the side at blindside flanker. “Should Billy not be available then you have Lawes and then you have the three back rows of Wilson, [Sam] Underhill and Curry. We have those selections at hand and we just have to make the right decision tactically for this game.”
Jones had been expected to ring the changes against France but he was denied the opportunity to experiment by Typhoon Hagibis. As a result, he is set to keep his midfield trio of George Ford, Owen Farrell and Manu Tuilagi. Jack Nowell was among the replacements against Argentina but he took no part in Tuesday’s session and is expected to be replaced in the matchday 23 by Jonathan Joseph.
Joseph is close friends with the England and Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings, who was subjected to racist abuse when making his international debut in Bulgaria on Monday. “I haven’t spoken [to Tyrone] but I have seen bits of it and read up on it,” said Joseph. “It’s not great what happened out in Bulgaria. But from what I have heard they were very professional about it and at the same time trying to stand up for what is right. We are fortunate in the sport we are in to not see any of that stuff happen to us. You just hope things will get better for them.”
