Italy vs England and 6N permutations

[Adam_P]

15. George Furbank (Northampton Saints, 2 caps)
14. Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, 43 caps)
13. Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby, 50 caps)
12. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 29 caps)
11. Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, 56 caps)
10. Owen Farrell (Saracens, 83 caps)
9. Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 99 caps)
1. Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 59 caps)
2. Jamie George (Saracens, 49 caps)
3. Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, 35 caps)
4. Maro Itoje (Saracens, 38 caps)
5. Jonny Hill (Exeter Chiefs, uncapped)
6. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 23 caps)
7. Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 18 caps)
8. Billy Vunipola (Saracens, 51 caps)

FINISHERS
16. Tom Dunn, (Bath Rugby, uncapped)
17. Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 18 caps)
18. Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 3 caps)
19. Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 15 caps)
20. Ben Earl (Bristol Bears, 3 caps)
21. Dan Robson (Wasps, 2 caps)
22. Ollie Lawrence (Worcester Warriors, uncapped)
23. Ollie Thorley (Gloucester Rugby, uncapped)

[Danno]

That's.... I quite like that. Bar no Willis on the bench

[Oakboy]

Good - Slade at 12.
Bad - no Willis, Furbank at 15.

[Banquo]

Willis will rightly be disappointed. Midfield is what many had hoped for, be interesting for sure.

Furbank is a lucky boy.

[fivepointer]

Delighted for Johnny Hill. Richly deserved.
That aside, there is Slade to 12, Furbank at FB, which I didnt think was likely, and a bench packed with impactful players.

[Oakboy]

Jones does talk some crap. Surely, that midfield must see some 10/12/13 passing. How are they going to play otherwise?

[Banquo]

Jones does talk some crap. Surely, that midfield must see some 10/12/13 passing. How are they going to play otherwise?

Not really- he was saying 12 rarely passes to 13 these days, which is true. He’s stuck a runner in JJ there- though lately JJ has been distributing more than running.

[Digby]

I suppose it's another chance to see what some people clearly see in Furbank.

What's the least number of caps we've had on the bench in the last 20 odd years I wonder?

[Mikey Brown]

Slade at 12. Wow. He actually did it.

[Mikey Brown]

Furbank; Watson, Joseph, Slade, May; Farrell, Youngs; M Vunipola, George, Sinckler, Itoje, Hill, Curry, Underhill, B Vunipola.

Replacements: Dunn, Genge, Stuart, Ewels, Earl, Robson, Lawrence, Thorley.

No Willis. Also wow.

[FKAS]

Good - Slade at 12.
Bad - no Willis, Furbank at 15.

Willis is a young player just joining his first international squad. The other backrows have had more squad time. Eddie will want him up to speed before including him. I think that's a good choice.

I have no idea why Furbank is in there. There's a better fullback in the squad. There's better fullbacks not called up.

[Shiny]

I suppose Uncle Eddie can get the slight benefit of the doubt in that we really do need to thump Italy as this is a must win competitive match for the 6 Nations title. Hopefully he is saving Willis etc for more experimentation for the Georgia match. I do hope if we get a reasonable amount of tries then he gives Robson and the backs a good deal of time off the bench and not just the last 3 minutes. My only real bug bear is Furbank at FB (and I'm a Saints fan but I cannot see what Eddie see's in him at international level).

[Mikey Brown]

Am hearing Lawrence to start, Obano, Hill and Willis on the bench, and a 6/2 split with Earl on the bench too in the forwards.

That said, it could be the voices in the my head, but at least they're not telling me to stop killing again.

So was this the voices in your head or do you need to have a word with your guy?

[WaspInWales]

First off, congrats to Ben Youngs on getting his 100th cap.

Secondly, how the fuck has Ben Youngs got 99 caps???

Nice to see Robson on the bench. He'll probably get 5 mins to make an impact.

Erm, where's the flyhalf options besides Faz and possibly Slade?

Was hoping Umaga would be on the bench. The final quarter against a hopefully tiring Italian defence would be a nice welcome to international rugby.

[fivepointer]

On reflection i'm quite pleased Furbank is being given another opportunity.
He's not been in great club form but clearly there is something Jones likes, and i did too during the early part of the season when he looked a seriously good player.
Maybe getting out of the Saints environment will energise him.
Giving him an outing against undemanding opposition may be just what he needs.
Discarding a player after 2 caps would be harsh, so on balance its a selection i can get behind.

[Epaminondas Pules]

Am hearing Lawrence to start, Obano, Hill and Willis on the bench, and a 6/2 split with Earl on the bench too in the forwards.

That said, it could be the voices in the my head, but at least they're not telling me to stop killing again.

You need to have a word with your sources!!

Damn straight, though I'm oddly pleased.....Willis aside.

[Puja]

I can understand the logic behind selecting Furbank. He was in the England pre-6N squad with these coaches and played 2 games at the start of the year and has had the benefit of nearly the entire pre-Autumn training camp. Malins has had under a week to learn the systems for the first time.

I guess the same logic applies to Willis, although I am more disappointed in that as I think he's a special player and a special case. Clearly Eddie thinks that applies to JHill over Ewels (who was the other captain opposite Fazlet in that intra-squad match last week!) and is confident that Slade can drop in at 12 for England despite not having played there in 5 years. Guess Eddie meant it when he said that 12 and 13 are functionally the same position nowadays!

Puja

[Epaminondas Pules]

Am hearing Lawrence to start, Obano, Hill and Willis on the bench, and a 6/2 split with Earl on the bench too in the forwards.

That said, it could be the voices in the my head, but at least they're not telling me to stop killing again.

So was this the voices in your head or do you need to have a word with your guy?

He's just text me with the simple message "I know, fuck off!'

[Epaminondas Pules]

15. George Furbank (Northampton Saints, 2 caps)
14. Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, 43 caps)
13. Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby, 50 caps)
12. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 29 caps)
11. Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, 56 caps)
10. Owen Farrell (Saracens, 83 caps)
9. Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 99 caps)
1. Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 59 caps)
2. Jamie George (Saracens, 49 caps)
3. Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, 35 caps)
4. Maro Itoje (Saracens, 38 caps)
5. Jonny Hill (Exeter Chiefs, uncapped)
6. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 23 caps)
7. Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 18 caps)
8. Billy Vunipola (Saracens, 51 caps)

FINISHERS
16. Tom Dunn, (Bath Rugby, uncapped)
17. Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 18 caps)
18. Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 3 caps)
19. Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 15 caps)
20. Ben Earl (Bristol Bears, 3 caps)
21. Dan Robson (Wasps, 2 caps)
22. Ollie Lawrence (Worcester Warriors, uncapped)
23. Ollie Thorley (Gloucester Rugby, uncapped)

I like that. There's opportunity to mix it up somewhat in the next game, and even then there's potentially four debutants and another four players with 3 caps or less in this 23.

[Adam_P]

Erm, where's the flyhalf options besides Faz and possibly Slade?

Furbank

[Mikey Brown]

I can understand the logic behind selecting Furbank. He was in the England pre-6N squad with these coaches and played 2 games at the start of the year and has had the benefit of nearly the entire pre-Autumn training camp. Malins has had under a week to learn the systems for the first time.

I guess the same logic applies to Willis, although I am more disappointed in that as I think he's a special player and a special case. Clearly Eddie thinks that applies to JHill over Ewels (who was the other captain opposite Fazlet in that intra-squad match last week!) and is confident that Slade can drop in at 12 for England despite not having played there in 5 years. Guess Eddie meant it when he said that 12 and 13 are functionally the same position nowadays!

Puja

Hey, it's only 3 years. Though you have to wonder why Tuilagi was the one to shift to 12 previously if we could have kept similar patterns for 10.Ford/Faz 12. Faz/Slade 13.Tuilagi/Joseph.

Will be interesting to see where Lawrence comes on and if they switch things up at that point. Seems a waste of time to put Slade at 12 and then shift him after 50 minutes though.

Furbank is backup 10, with Thorley coming in and Watson to 15?

[Puja]

15. George Furbank (Northampton Saints, 2 caps)
14. Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, 43 caps)
13. Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby, 50 caps)
12. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 29 caps)
11. Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, 56 caps)
10. Owen Farrell (Saracens, 83 caps)
9. Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 99 caps)
1. Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 59 caps)
2. Jamie George (Saracens, 49 caps)
3. Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, 35 caps)
4. Maro Itoje (Saracens, 38 caps)
5. Jonny Hill (Exeter Chiefs, uncapped)
6. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 23 caps)
7. Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 18 caps)
8. Billy Vunipola (Saracens, 51 caps)

FINISHERS
16. Tom Dunn, (Bath Rugby, uncapped)
17. Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 18 caps)
18. Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 3 caps)
19. Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 15 caps)
20. Ben Earl (Bristol Bears, 3 caps)
21. Dan Robson (Wasps, 2 caps)
22. Ollie Lawrence (Worcester Warriors, uncapped)
23. Ollie Thorley (Gloucester Rugby, uncapped)

I like that. There's opportunity to mix it up somewhat in the next game, and even then there's potentially four debutants and another four players with 3 caps or less in this 23.

Nostrapuja predicts:
Ewels will come on for Hill after 45 minutes. Genge will come on after 60 minutes. Lawrence will come on for Slade after 65 minutes. Stuart, Earl, Robson and Thorley will come on between the 72nd minute and the 79th. Tom Dunn will continue coming within touching distance of a first cap then having it yanked away from him by not coming on at all. Possibly to make it hurt even worse, George will get a yellow card and then there won't be a single scrum for 10 minutes.

Puja

[Puja]

I can understand the logic behind selecting Furbank. He was in the England pre-6N squad with these coaches and played 2 games at the start of the year and has had the benefit of nearly the entire pre-Autumn training camp. Malins has had under a week to learn the systems for the first time.

I guess the same logic applies to Willis, although I am more disappointed in that as I think he's a special player and a special case. Clearly Eddie thinks that applies to JHill over Ewels (who was the other captain opposite Fazlet in that intra-squad match last week!) and is confident that Slade can drop in at 12 for England despite not having played there in 5 years. Guess Eddie meant it when he said that 12 and 13 are functionally the same position nowadays!

Puja

Hey, it's only 3 years. Though you have to wonder why Tuilagi was the one to shift to 12 previously if we could have kept similar patterns for 10.Ford/Faz 12. Faz/Slade 13.Tuilagi/Joseph.

Furbank is backup 10, with Thorley coming in and Watson to 15?

I actually respect the idea of being able to change the point of attack depending on the opposition, with the creativity going from 10 to 13. Gave us options.

When was Slade 12 for England in 2017 then? I had assumed he was last playing 12 in the warmups for RWC 2015.

Puja

[WaspInWales]

Erm, where's the flyhalf options besides Faz and possibly Slade?

Furbank

Has he played 10 much before then?

[Epaminondas Pules]

Erm, where's the flyhalf options besides Faz and possibly Slade?

Furbank

Has he played 10 much before then?

He mixed between 10 and 15 throughout schools and also at A league.