England have opted to start Billy Vunipola for the fourth successive warm-up Test and will also field their familiar half-back duo of skipper Owen Farrell and Ben Youngs in the XV to face Italy in Newcastle on Friday.
Instead of wrapping all of his key men in cotton wool, head coach Eddie Jones is keen for his side to fly out to Japan on the back of a resounding win over the Azzurri. Bath’s Ruaridh McConnochie has been selected to make his debut on the wing but Jones has also chosen to include three players who are not in his World Cup squad.
Harlequins’ centre Joe Marchant will make his first Test start with the sidelined Henry Slade and Jonathan Joseph not involved, while Exeter’s Matt Kvesic and Bath’s Charlie Ewels are named on the bench.
“For us the game is another important step to develop our game fitness and game strategy, said Jones. “We have gone with a mix and match selection policy to develop our adaptability and the team’s ability to cope with any situation. We have had a solid training week in Treviso with hot conditions so we are looking forward to testing ourselves against Italy on Friday night. Then we hop on the plane and are ready to go to Japan.”
This will be the first England Test match to be played at St James’ Park in Newcastle which hosted three Rugby World Cup fixtures in 2015. “We are excited to be playing in Newcastle,” said Jones.” We are playing at an iconic football ground and we know the area is an important one for rugby in the northern part of England. We are looking forward to seeing and playing in front of the fans.”
