1 day Ago By Michael Hincks
England play their fourth and final autumn-series match against Japan at Twickenham on Sunday, and the objective must be a big win against a team beaten 52-12 by France and 64-19 by New Zealand in their most recent top-tier Tests. Steve Borthwick’s team have lost their last five in a row , excluding the 52-17 romp in Japan in June, and need to put on a grand finale with the ability to create and execute plenty of tries, while not chasing them down blind alleys, and adding to the experience of their most promising players. Borthwick’s approach to this Autumn Nations Series has been to have a 36-man senior squad, while a separate group led by coach Mark Mapletoft took on last Sunday’s A-team fixture against an Australia XV: a 38-17 win at the Stoop.
Sale Sharks prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour was a minor exception to the rule, as he was released from the senior squad – having not played for them – to have 43 minutes starting for the A team. Read Next The uncomfortable England question after South Africa loss sums up their autumn Fin Baxter has earned the chance to wear the No 1 jersey in a home Test (unless Borthwick wants Ellis Genge in the team as captain) this week, but Opoku-Fordjour should be given a chunk of time too, as England continue to move on from the recent Test retiree, Joe Marler. On the tighthead side, Cole can put his feet up and give the benefit of his wisdom to Northampton’s Trevor Davison, with Will Stuart on the bench.
There was an argument for parachuting in Afolabi Fasogbon of Gloucester, but only if he was a live option for the Six Nations Championship starting in 10 weeks. As hooker, Theo Dan’s excellent run for England was halted by the recall of Luke Cowan-Dickie this month, but those two can share the duties, with Jamie George rested. Likewise, George’s second-row mate Maro Itoje may need time off – all these players have busy Premiership and European action coming their way, and they must take a mandatory one club match off in the next three weeks if they have been in the England 23 for each of the autumn Tests.
The quietly impressive Alex Coles and the still-developing George Martin can form the second row, and it’s high time for another look at Ted Hill as a big, bullocking No 6 (a concept Borthwick appears to like) with good hands; the Bath and ex-Worcester man has one cap from 2021. I would have introduced Tom Willis at No 8, but he is not in the squad, so it’s a toss-up between Alex Dombrandt, giving Ben Earl a rest, or Chandler Cunningham-South reverting to his under-20s position, while rewarding Sam Underhill with another start at No 7 – though Borthwick may want to see Tom Curry again after his run of injuries. It is harsh to say it of a fine player, but it feels like we have seen enough of Ben Curry at this juncture.
Now, the backs – and what to do about George Ford , who is sitting on 98 caps? I’m indulging in sentiment, to start him and give him the captaincy. It’s been a delight to have seen Marcus Smith enjoying himself as the kingpin No 10 at Twickenham this autumn, but I have another plan for him, just for this week. Read Next It's time for England to give Marcus Smith his 80 minutes at fly-half Jack van Poortvliet and Harry Randall can stay as the No 9s, and then it gets really juicy with the outside backs.
I’m keen to see if Luke Northmore can transfer the classy skills he has so often shown for Harlequins, in between injuries, and at 6ft 2in and 15st I believe he can do the job at No 12, even if he and the other centres in this week’s squad tend to prefer 13. There are other cases that could be argued: for Tommy Freeman at 13 or Freddie Steward at 12, or just giving Ollie Lawrence and Henry Slade one last go of succeed or bust, as they have been the picks all year. Slade’s defensive leadership remains valuable.
Let’s have the exciting, rangy Tom Roebuck on one wing – and get your money on him to score – and the born finisher Ollie Sleightholme on the other, with Smith at full-back, and George Furbank in reserve in a more impactful bench than of late. The slick combination between Smith and Henry Slade for Sleightholme’s try against South Africa last week was the sweetest dream – more of that please, England, around an attacking fulcrum of Ford, Northmore, Slade and Smith..
