Play players in position:
Woodward wrote: “Too many players are being picked out of position. Maro Itoje is not a flanker and Owen Farrell is not a centre. Those guys are two of the best players in the world but England aren’t maximising their potential.
“If England had picked their best players in their best positions then they could have won that game with something to spare,
“Manu Tuilagi’s best position is inside centre so I would like to see him with Farrell and Henry Slade either side of him. Ben Earl is the best openside flanker in the Premiership so I would bring him and play Tom Curry at No 6, rather than persisting with this policy of putting a lock there.
“Hopefully Sunday will be a massive wake-up call, otherwise it will be a long autumn.
“We play Argentina in a pool game on the opening day of the World Cup and if we lose that our dreams are over.”
Owen Farrell Facts:
- The Saracens star went to school with England teammate George Ford
- His education began in rugby league – he joined Wigan St Patricks at the age of eight
- He became the youngest ever player to appear in English professional rugby, making his debut aged 17 and 11 days. This record was later beaten by schoolmate Ford
- It’s well known that Owen is the son of Ireland head coach Andy Farrell. However, it’s less commonly know that his uncle Sean O’Loughlin is also a rugby league legend, winning 34 caps for Great Britain between 1993 and 2009
- He was not at first registered as a Farrell, but took mum Colleen’s family name of O’Loughlin. The couple married in 1995, changing Owen’s surname to Farrell the following year.