HALFBACKS:
- 10. Owen Farrell (Saracens)
- 9. Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester Tigers)
“Smith’s day will come, but is he the best at the moment?” wrote Woodward.
“We have Marcus Smith and Owen Farrell at 10 and for me it is either/or, but not together under any circumstances.
“They are both ‘podium’ No 10s but Farrell is not a 12. If the World Cup was this weekend I would have no hesitation in starting Owen at 10 and as captain and cannot understand how he attracts so much flak.
“We seem to take comfort in the number of good players we have but it is not numbers, it is world-class players in your starting XV that counts.
“Farrell also excelled. I thought he was excellent in Sydney up against the giant Kerevi, who had a brilliant game. Kerevi is a fearsome opponent, but Farrell matched him and never took a backward step.”
“In the build-up to the third Test, I made it clear I could not understand why Jack van Poortvliet had been dropped to the bench after such an impressive display the previous week,” wrote Woodward.
“It was a massive error. Care had a really poor half an hour, but Jones realised he had made a mistake and rectified it quickly. It takes guts to do that and his move paid off. Van Poortvliet made a huge difference when he came on.”
“I feel sorry for Danny. It is tough on any player when they are hooked out of the game so early and not for an injury or tactical reasons.
“But in Test rugby there can be no room for sentiment. I’ll repeat – it was the right call to replace him.”
FRONT-ROW:
- 1. Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers)
- 2. Jamie George (Saracens)
- 3. Kyle Sinckler (Bath)
Woodward wrote: “Genge is world class. The way he powered through Samu Kerevi on Saturday and did the same to Michael Hooper in the second Test was hugely impressive. Both were huge moments.”
