The loss of Ollie Chessum to injury is a grave setback for England ahead of their seismic showdown with the All Blacks, but it could pave the way for a day of the jackal at Twickenham.
Steve Borthwick may opt to name his team early this week, ready for the Autumn Nations Series opener – and there is every chance that he had Leicester forward Chessum pencilled-in to start at blindside flanker before he suffered a knee injury in training. However, the silver lining around such a big, dark cloud is that it could allow for a reunion of the Kamikaze Kids.
It was Eddie Jones who gave that catchy nickname to his back-row forces of nature, Tom Curry and Sam Underhill, as they wrought havoc at the 2019 World Cup in Japan. Having buried the hapless Australians under a barrage of big hits, the pair joined forces again to smash New Zealand into oblivion in Yokahama, in a semi-final victory for the ages, five years ago last Saturday.
Now, Borthwick should consider unleashing them in tandem again, against the same opposition, to lead a defensive and breakdown blitz. Curry at blindside, Underhill on the other flank and Ben Earl at No 8 could give England dynamism with and without the ball. They could also disrupt the Kiwi supply line by competing hard for possession and winning turnovers.
Back row is one of the most intriguing selection areas for Borthwick this week, not least because there is so much English firepower to call upon. Consider that the likes of Zach Mercer, Tom Pearson, Tom Willis and Will Evans haven’t even managed to win a place in the squad and it tells a tale. Borthwick is most likely to prefer the balance of having a primary lineout jumper at blindside, but Curry can serve as an aerial outlet and is almost as heavy as Chandler Cunningham-South, the incumbent.
Both Curry and Underhill have added to their game by improving their ball-carrying, while Earl is a high-octane asset in the wider channels and also through heavy traffic. In addition, a recall for Ellis Genge at loosehead prop would provide England with another gainline asset to absorb some of the burden of breaking open the visitors’ defence with a route-one onslaught.
The home side should target their opponents’ perceived strength on the floor. Attack them at source, to prevent the All Blacks from building up quick-ball momentum to open up the field. A trio of Curry, Underhill and Earl would further enhance the ability of Borthwick’s side to dominate the ruck, against a pack who are formidable but not super-sized like the Springboks.
Elsewhere, there are many other debates. This column would make the case for recalling Genge to the No 1 shirt. Back the vice-captain to rise to this occasion, even if New Zealand will try to go after him in the scrum. Genge will seize on any perceived doubt about his set-piece credentials and use it to aim a tide of fury at the visitors, just as he did against Australia on tour Down Under in 2022.
A front row of Genge, captain Jamie George and veteran tighthead Dan Cole can hold steady, aided by the presence of the massive George Martin alongside Maro Itoje in the second row. Curry, Underhill and Earl to complete a multi-purpose pack.
Further back, there is disruption at scrum-half as Alex Mitchell is unavailable as he recovers from a neck injury, so other changes should be kept to a minimum. Continuity is key, as England seek to build on their recent surge in creativity.
Ben Spencer is not a like-for-like replacement for Mitchell by any stretch, but the Bath captain deserves to start and dictate terms. He can play quick if required, as it should be. Then Borthwick could unleash either Harry Randall or Jack van Poortvliet to add tempo off the bench.
Marcus Smith will stay at 10 as George Ford is short of recent game-time and that make sense anyway, in the interests of cohesion. Now is not the time to pick Fin Smith to start. Ollie Lawrence can resume his productive midfield alliance with Henry Slade now that the latter has proved his fitness, while the recent back-three unit of Tommy Freeman and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso on the wings, either side of George Furbank at full-back, justify being retained en masse.
That is a line-up to trouble and trump the All Blacks. Borthwick will go his own way of course, with maybe two or three variations, but this column’s England XV is: Furbank; Feyi-Waboso, Slade, Lawrence, Freeman; M Smith, Spencer; Genge, George (capt), Cole; Itoje, Martin; Curry, Earl, Underhill.
Premiership undermined by international overlap
Leicester’s first win at Saracens since 2018 was another notable landmark for Michael Cheika’s new regime, but it occurred in a Premiership weekend undermined by weakened line-ups.
Any doubt about the Tigers’ recruitment of the former Australia and Argentina head coach have already been dispelled, after five wins in their first six games of the season.
The big cats from the East Midlands have real bite and menace again, with a dominant pack – in keeping with a proud heritage. Cheika has successfully re-established Leicester’s renowned fighting spirit, as has been demonstrated by the way they have won close encounters, but it is a shame that Saturday’s match at StoneX Stadium was lacking so many front-line figures.
With England players in camp, the hosts were heavily depleted and the visitors were also missing a host of key men. Now that the Premiership has been reduced to 10 teams, it is frustrating that the credibility of the league cannot be protected by avoiding overlaps with these Test training windows, as well as the international matches themselves.
Northampton were another club significantly inconvenienced by a big absentee list, as a dubious tribute to their title-winning feats last season.
Wales must capitalise on domestic form of stars
Reasons for Welsh optimism have been few and far between lately, but the weekend brought good news on various fronts, to create some shafts of light amid the gloom. Three of the four regions won in the United Rugby Championship, but the delight was in the detail.
The Scarlets’ demolition of Italian visitors Zebre featured a scorching, long-range from teen centre sensation Macs Page and footage of his stunning strike was soon doing the rounds on social media. The pace and footwork were breathtaking to behold – and there is nothing better at improving morale than the sight of a new rookie talent announcing their glorious potential.
Cardiff came to the party by over-turning a 19-0 half-time deficit to beat Ulster 21-19, while there was another buzzing Bridgend atmosphere for the Ospreys, who responded by beating Edinburgh.
Meanwhile, Tomos Williams continued to demonstrate why he is emerging as the Premiership signing of the season by inspiring Gloucester’s thrashing of Newcastle, which had a distinctly Welsh flavour. Now, Warren Gatland’s national squad need to seize on the faint traces of hope to end their nine-Test losing streak.
World Rugby elections will be murky, selfish, and unfair
World Rugby confirmed last week that three candidates will stand for the chairman election on November 14 in Dublin; Abdelatif Benazzi from France, Andrea Rinaldo from Italy and the Australian favourite to become Bill Beaumont’s successor; Brett Robinson.
There will be plenty of political activity in the coming weeks ahead of the vote and this column will hope in vain for all parties to consider the greater good of the game rather than indulging in horse-trading driven by self-interest. Pigs might fly, frankly.
It will be an almighty free-for-all, with murky pacts all over the place, sadly. At this stage, it is worth reiterating that the voting system is out-dated and criminally unfair, with each country in the Six Nations and Rugby Championship, plus Japan, having three votes each. That essentially means that those with a vested interest in protecting the status quo control 33 of the 53 votes.
Mercifully, some are slightly more progressive than others so perhaps the process won’t be a total sham after all. Whoever is elected should reform the governance structure without delay, as Benazzi has already indicated he intends to do, if given the chance.
Let England challenge the Haka
Last Word – Shortly before kick-off at Twickenham – sorry, Allianz Stadium – on Saturday, thousands of camera phones will be held up towards the pitch, to capture the familiar ritual of the Haka. It’s a crowd-pleaser, even for those backing the team who are taking on the All Blacks – and even if they try to drown it out with partisan singing.
The trouble is that the pre-match challenge has become too sanitised, with photographers and microphones filling the yawning gap between the teams. If only the authorities would lighten up and allow a proper response, it really would be worth watching.
World Rugby regulations state that ‘no player from the team receiving the challenge may cross the halfway line’. How dull. England ignored that in 2019, formed an arrow shape, advanced out of their permitted zone, stared down the Kiwis – and went on to win the World Cup semi-final.
They were handed a £2,000 fine. Oh well, it was worth it.
The regulations go on to state: ‘It is not mandatory for the team receiving the challenge to face it.’ In other words, World Rugby are content to allow rival teams to ignore New Zealand, thus causing cultural offence. If it’s all about creating a spectacle then let England and all opponents move towards the challengers, or even surround them, as long as there’s no contact. Why not?
If the All Blacks are free to perform throat-slitting gestures in other people’s stadiums on cultural grounds, England could respond by eye-balling them in readiness to pick a fight, in keeping with their own native custom. That is slightly tongue in cheek, before anyone takes offence, but the point stands. Hakas which spark a response are the ones people remember, not all the at-arm’s-length, sanitised ones.
