England head coach Eddie Jones has explained his decision to drop George Ford from his starting XV for their Rugby World Cup quarter-final against Australia.
“We’ve left a lot of good players out of the squad of 31 and they’re disappointed, but [Ford’s] got a significant role with us to play.
Never afraid to change a winning team… exactly what champion coaches do @EnglandRugby I did not see Kruis starting on the bench coming or for that matter going for that midfield after no real game time!! 🙌🙌🧨🧨💯💯 pic.twitter.com/V2wZYNCxOO
— Will Greenwood (@WillGreenwood) October 17, 2019
“It’s always a horses for courses situation in terms of selection, we’re always looking to pick the right team for the right game and we feel this is the best starting and finishing team for this game.”
“We just feel that’s the best combination for this week,” added Jones.
“Kerevi is a damaging ball carrier and whoever they pick at 13, if they pick the other big Fijian boy then they’ve got two big ball carriers, but we believe we’ve got the defensive capabilities to handle them and cause them a few problems.
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“Australia defend a certain way and we believe those three players can also trouble their defence, and defensively we feel like it’s a pretty strong 10-12-13 combination.
“We know Australia are a high possession team, they are a high phase team and that’s how they want to play and so there’s going to be a lot of defending in that area and we think those three guys are well equipped to handle it.”
ENGLAND TEAM TO PLAY AUSTRALIA
15. Elliot Daly (Saracens, 36 caps)
14. Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, 39 caps)
13. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 23 caps)
12. Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers, 37 caps)
11. Jonny May (Leicester Tigers, 49 caps)
10. Owen Farrell (Saracens, 76 caps) C
9. Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 92 caps)
1. Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 55 caps)
2. Jamie George (Saracens, 42 caps)
3. Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins, 28 caps)
4. Maro Itoje (Saracens, 31 caps)
5. Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 78 caps)
6. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 16 caps)
7. Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 12 caps)
8. Billy Vunipola (Saracens, 48 caps)
Finishers
16. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, 18 caps)
17. Joe Marler (Harlequins, 65 caps)
18. Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 92 caps)
19. George Kruis (Saracens, 38 caps)
20. Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints, 5 caps)
21. Willi Heinz (Gloucester Rugby, 7 caps)
22. George Ford (Leicester Tigers, 62 caps)
23. Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby, 44 caps)