The loss of Manu Tuilagi for the World Cup would not so very long ago have been regarded as a reason to think that England would follow Wales and France and not reach the final of the tournament they hosted, but the emergence of Jonathan Joseph this year has been a happy accident for the head coach Stuart Lancaster.
But for injuries to Brad Barritt and Tuilagi at the start of this year’s Six Nations against Wales in Cardiff, Joseph, who had been on the international periphery since the 2013 tour to Argentina, would not have been lining up in England’s midfield at the Millennium Stadium and scoring a try at the start of a campaign that was to finish with his being named England’s player of the year.
“I never imagined I would be in this position a year ago,” said Joseph during the unveiling of the new Canterbury kit for the World Cup. “I was in pre-season with Bath while the England squad had just got back from New Zealand. It has been quite a turnaround and it has had a lot to do with mindset, working closely with the coaches and getting my knowledge of the game and understanding up to speed.
“I have worked very hard on the physical element and conditioning. The upset of missing out on New Zealand tour drove me on in pre-season last year and I did not want to let the opportunity to get back into the reckoning in World Cup year get past me. I have to continue the momentum of last season: there will be no relaxing, sitting back and thinking how well I have done. It is a case of looking where I can improve and become a better player.”
Tuilagi missed all England’s matches last season because of a groin injury but he was expected to feature in the World Cup until an altercation with a taxi driver and two police officers landed him in court. Lancaster had no hesitation in dropping the Leicester centre from the squad until January next year, a move that leaves Joseph the favourite to start at outside-centre in the World Cup opener against Fiji.
“It will hard to get that spot even without Manu,” said Joseph, the Rugby Players’ Association’s player of the year after a brilliant season in which he helped Bath reach the Premiership final and England become the top try scorers in the Six Nations. “There are a number of good players in the centre positions in the squad and no one wants to miss out. Everyone is fighting hard for a place and it is going to be tough.”
Joseph is the one specialist 13 in the 45-strong squad that is spending two weeks in Denver training at altitude. Luther Burrell has played there for England but features at inside-centre for Northampton, while Billy Twelvetrees, Barritt and Kyle Eastmond feature at 12 for their clubs. Henry Slade spent much of the season at 13 for Exeter, but is an outside-half by preference. Meanwhile, Wasps’ Elliot Daly was released before the players left for Colorado.
“We all know that it is going to be hard to get into the 31 for the World Cup,” said Joseph. “My desire is as strong as it was a year ago when I was trying to get back into the squad. It is not hard to get focused and appreciate what a fortunate position I am in. It would be stupid to waste it. The time we have together as a group will be huge for us, increasing understanding and the way in which people like to do different things. We produced a lot of good stuff in the Six Nations and we have two months to build on that and put ourselves in a better place.”
Joseph’s breakthrough season ended on a low when Bath were beaten by Saracens in May’s Premiership final. The two clubs supply 17 of the 45 players who are in the England squad and the pragmatism of Sarries contrasts with the run-from-everywhere approach at Bath whose willingness to move the ball in their own half cost them at the end of the league season.
“It was a bitterly disappointing day for us,” said Joseph. “We did not distribute the ball in the way we should have and failed to utilise the space at the back more. We are not going to shy away from what we do at Bath: we believe it is the right way to play the game and if a few passes had gone to hand rather than been knocked on, we could have been in a different position. We are a young team that will learn from the experience, as Saracens did after losing their first Premiership final. Now it is all about the World Cup. I have already dreamt about the first game, but not the final; that is quite a way away.” Jonathan Joseph appeared with his England team-mates at the launch of the England Rugby World Cup shirt. Visit Canterbury.com
