Two years ago England were made to look silly by Italy at Twickenham and Eddie Jones still appears to be in the mood for retribution. Rarely has a team been more deliberately picked to dish out revenge, with the Azzurri set to face the heaviest trio of players at 12, 13 and 14 that England have ever selected. Subtlety has left town, at least for the time being.
Nowhere on this occasion are the languid skills of Henry Slade, a genuine playmaking 12, a midfield kicking option or the buzzing and versatile Jack Nowell. Instead Ben Te’o, Manu Tuilagi and the 6ft 4in, 18-and-a-half stone Bath wing Joe Cokanasiga, who collectively weigh 338kg, have been picked en bloc as a monster truck barrier to Italian ambitions, with Ellis Genge and Kyle Sinckler offering further bristle and gristle.
In many ways this is just a logical extension of what Jones has long fancied doing. Te’o was in the frame to face Ireland until he suffered an untimely side strain and, as a Test Lion, has more than just size and strength going for him. Tuilagi’s more accustomed position is outside centre anyway, while no one disputes the 21-year-old Cokanasiga is a towering talent. If England can get them all on the front foot, a nightmarish triple whammy looms for would-be tacklers.
It is hardly surprising, though, that Jones struggled to recall choosing a bigger centre combination in his many years in the sport. Big is not necessarily beautiful in every facet of Test rugby, as France have often shown. Success, particularly in a midfield context, revolves as much around manipulating defences and creating space as blindly seeking contact.
At Test level all teams can tackle and something different is generally required to outwit good sides. If England flatten Italy it does not automatically follow that the world’s best will be similarly crushed at this autumn’s World Cup in Japan.
Elliot Daly; Joe Cokanasiga, Manu Tuilagi, Ben Te’o, Jonny May; Owen Farrell (capt), Ben Youngs; Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Kyle Sinckler, Joe Launchbury, George Kruis, Brad Shields, Tom Curry, Billy Vunipola.
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ben Moon, Dan Cole, Nathan Hughes, Mark Wilson, Dan Robson, George Ford, Henry Slade.
Given it was a below-par kicking strategy rather than a lack of muscle that did for England in Cardiff, it also does little to bolster the idea that an international midfield remains a place for all shapes and sizes. Jones freely admits he was partly influenced by the Australia game at Twickenham three years ago when England’s backs were an average of 9.25kg lighter per man than the Wallabies. He is conveniently overlooking the fact that England won that particular match 37-21, with none of their four tries scored by anyone above 6ft.
The more pertinent explanation, perhaps, is that England needed to change things up after their disappointing Welsh brain fade, while Italy’s Michele Campagnaro, latterly of Exeter, is much more used to Slade’s game than Tuilagi’s. Following the tactical trickery of 2017, Jones is also wary of Italy finding alternative ways of slowing English momentum. “In certain games when maybe you’re not getting fast ruck ball the only way to get through the line is by smashing through it,” he said. “When the game is tight you need a bigger backline. If they go to a dump-and-fan-type defence – and we’re not sure what they’ll do – we’ve got the firepower to go through them. We’ve picked the team we think is right to play against Italy.”
That means first Six Nations starts for the Wasps flanker Brad Shields, promoted in place of the hitherto excellent Mark Wilson, and Genge, who brings a certain edge that Jones feels has been lacking in England’s scrummaging to date. Last week’s training session with Georgia seems to have whetted everyone’s appetite for something tastier and Jones wants Genge and Sinckler to respond accordingly. “Both of them are maturing really well. Kyle has probably been ahead of Genge in terms of that growth rate, but Genge is really starting to get the bit between his teeth.
“We want them to be aggressive, tough, relentless props but at the same time be able to understand the discipline of playing for your team and playing with the referee. For naturally aggressive players it’s always a challenge but as they play more top-level games they learn to channel it in a very productive way. Hopefully we will see more of that on Saturday.”
Many were also hoping to see Dan Robson handed a start at scrum-half but, once again, the Wasps man has to settle for a place on the bench. Why Jones still refers to “finishers” yet remains so reluctant to trust Robson with any decent game time is a mystery which will only deepen should Ben Youngs tear a hamstring on the eve of the World Cup. England’s head coach compared the relentless challenge of Test rugby to “climbing up Mount Everest” but the best expedition leaders always keep their Sherpas happy.
