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Eddie Jones has taken the decision not to risk young full-back George Furbank due to a long-standing groin injury that he has been hindered by for “many a year”, but the Northampton Saints youngster will still remain with the England squad as emergency cover after Ollie Thorley was released to Gloucester.
The bizarre scenario will see Furbank stick with the 23 named for Sunday’s Six Nations clash with Ireland despite Jones admitting that he is not fit to feature this week, raising suspicions that the inexperienced full-back is being kept out of the firing line against a side going for the Grand Slam and the form side of the tournament so far.
No sooner had Furbank been ruled out of the Twickenham encounter than news emerged of Thorley’s inclusion in Gloucester’s starting line-up to face Sale Sharks this Saturday, meaning the wing will be unavailable for England’s match the following day.
“He is just not quite right,” Jones said of Furbank, who only made his debut three weeks ago in the defeat against France and struggled under the high ball. “Rather than risk him – he couldn’t train yesterday – we felt like we were better off resting him this week.
“He has a long term groin and hip issue that’s he had for many a year, and just needed to give it some time.”
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1/16 Six Nations team of round two
England regained the Calcutta Cup with a 13-6 victory over Scotland, while Ireland maintained their 100 per cent record with a bonus-point win over Wales and France stumbled their way past Italy. So who makes our team of the weekend after round two?
Getty Images
2/16 15. Jordan Larmour (Ireland)
The Irishman has looked assured since replacing Rob Kearney as Ireland’s No 1 full-back and brought Saturday’s Aviva Staium encounter to life, beating four Welsh defenders with a beauty of a side-step that opened the door for the first try of the match. Kearney remains a pair of safe hands at the back, but Larmour is proving how he gives Ireland an extra cutting edge in attack.
AFP via Getty Images
3/16 14. Andrew Conway (Ireland)
Conway is quietly going about his business as the best-performing wing so far in the Six Nations, having put in two very strong performances so far. The Munster-man looked strong in defence and took his chance when it presented itself to seal the bonus point.
AP
4/16 13. Arthur Vincent (France)
Given the task of replacing the injured Virimi Vakatawa and did himself justice with an assured performance. The centre contributed well with ball in hand but it was his defensive work that stood out with 16 successful tackles to lead the line in stopping a much-improved Italian side.
AP
5/16 12. Sam Johnson (Scotland)
A few contenders for the shirt as both Owen Farrell and Bundee Aki has positive impacts this weekend, but Johnson gets the nod for being the standout Scot in defeat during the Calcutta Cup clash. The centre has put in two good performances in as many weeks, only for no reward.
REUTERS
6/16 11. Matteo Minozzi (Italy)
His head-to-head battle against Teddy Thomas saw both score tries, but it was Minozzi who showed a more all-round game that helped drag Italy back into the fight when they were in danger of being blown out of the game. As well as his try, Minozzi showed good awareness and handling to link with his teammates to unlock the most impressive defence from the opening weekend.
EPA
7/16 10. Johnny Sexton (Ireland)
George Ford performed well under pressure at Murrayfield and Romain Ntamack did well attacking-wise, but Sexton’s return to form cannot be overlooked. The Ireland captaincy is helping to bring the best out of him once more, and not only did he vary up his pass-to-kick ratio nicely, but he also put in a solid shift defensively – as depicted by his busted cheek when he was eventually replaced.
REUTERS
8/16 9. Anthoine Dupont (France)
The first of four players to maintain their place in our team of the weekend, Dupont is threatening to make the Player of the Tournament award a one-man race if he maintains this level of performance. It was his miss-pass that sent Gregory Alldritt in for a try, while he also made another outside break and no-look pass that split apart the defence. A word for his replacement Baptiste Serin, who scored a sumptuous individual effort.
Getty Images
9/16 1. Ellis Genge (England)
Genge may be consigned to the role of replacement at the moment but he is doing his best to batter the door down to the starting line-up in his own uncompromising way. Twice now he has come on to noticeably improve England’s scrum, which has given them the platform they need to seize control of games, and his try finally broke Scotland’s spirit to take the Calcutta Cup back south of the border.
Getty Images
10/16 2. Julien Marchand (France)
Marchand endured a slight wobble in the lineout mid-match, but it was sandwiched by a virtuoso performance with and without the ball. The hooker was one of Les Bleus most prominent carriers, but he also chipped in with 11 tackles in a 100 per cent defensive showing.
REUTERS
11/16 3. Tadhg Furlong (Ireland)
The Irish tighthead was at his rampaging best to barrel over the Welsh defence and score Ireland’s second try, putting them back in front, but it was his reaction to winning a scrum penalty on their own five-metre line that prompted the biggest roar of the match. Furlong keeps his place comfortably as the outstanding tighthead of the Six Nations so far.
PA
12/16 4. Maro Itoje (England)
Itoje proved England’s defensive linchpin with a whopping 23 tackles in the face of Storm Ciara as the lock made a right nuisance of himself, including in the set-piece where he helped to pick apart the Scottish lineout.
AFP via Getty Images
13/16 5. James Ryan (Ireland)
Ryan keeps his place in the side with another mammoth showing with the ball in hand. Ryan carried more than any other Irish player alongside Larmour to make 50 metres from an impressive 14 attempts, and added onto that was a team-leading 18 tackles that helps to mark him out as the player of the round.
AFP via Getty Images
14/16 6. CJ Stander (Ireland)
Like Ryan, Stander retains his place with a second man-of-the-match gong in as many games. Strictly speaking, Stander played the duration at No 8 this week but such was his performance – and that of a certain Englishman – we had to find space to squeeze them both into the back-row.
AFP via Getty Images
15/16 7. Sam Underhill (England)
The flanker may not have landed all of his tackle attempts but the ones he did – 16 in total – stopped the Scots in their tracks. Underhill showed the best of his game when he needed just a split-second to strip the ball at the breakdown late in the first half and release Elliot Daly to counter.
AFP via Getty Images
16/16 8. Tom Curry (England)
Curry answered his critics in the No 8 shirt with a dominant showing at Murrayfield. The young Sale forward helped protect full-back George Furbank by dropping deep, made 12 successful tackles and led a back-row unit that delivered five turnovers in the opening half, and in a game where the hard yards were tough to come by his 70 metres were game-defining.
AFP via Getty Images
1/16 Six Nations team of round two
England regained the Calcutta Cup with a 13-6 victory over Scotland, while Ireland maintained their 100 per cent record with a bonus-point win over Wales and France stumbled their way past Italy. So who makes our team of the weekend after round two?
Getty Images
2/16 15. Jordan Larmour (Ireland)
The Irishman has looked assured since replacing Rob Kearney as Ireland’s No 1 full-back and brought Saturday’s Aviva Staium encounter to life, beating four Welsh defenders with a beauty of a side-step that opened the door for the first try of the match. Kearney remains a pair of safe hands at the back, but Larmour is proving how he gives Ireland an extra cutting edge in attack.
AFP via Getty Images
3/16 14. Andrew Conway (Ireland)
Conway is quietly going about his business as the best-performing wing so far in the Six Nations, having put in two very strong performances so far. The Munster-man looked strong in defence and took his chance when it presented itself to seal the bonus point.
AP
4/16 13. Arthur Vincent (France)
Given the task of replacing the injured Virimi Vakatawa and did himself justice with an assured performance. The centre contributed well with ball in hand but it was his defensive work that stood out with 16 successful tackles to lead the line in stopping a much-improved Italian side.
AP
5/16 12. Sam Johnson (Scotland)
A few contenders for the shirt as both Owen Farrell and Bundee Aki has positive impacts this weekend, but Johnson gets the nod for being the standout Scot in defeat during the Calcutta Cup clash. The centre has put in two good performances in as many weeks, only for no reward.
REUTERS
6/16 11. Matteo Minozzi (Italy)
His head-to-head battle against Teddy Thomas saw both score tries, but it was Minozzi who showed a more all-round game that helped drag Italy back into the fight when they were in danger of being blown out of the game. As well as his try, Minozzi showed good awareness and handling to link with his teammates to unlock the most impressive defence from the opening weekend.
EPA
7/16 10. Johnny Sexton (Ireland)
George Ford performed well under pressure at Murrayfield and Romain Ntamack did well attacking-wise, but Sexton’s return to form cannot be overlooked. The Ireland captaincy is helping to bring the best out of him once more, and not only did he vary up his pass-to-kick ratio nicely, but he also put in a solid shift defensively – as depicted by his busted cheek when he was eventually replaced.
REUTERS
8/16 9. Anthoine Dupont (France)
The first of four players to maintain their place in our team of the weekend, Dupont is threatening to make the Player of the Tournament award a one-man race if he maintains this level of performance. It was his miss-pass that sent Gregory Alldritt in for a try, while he also made another outside break and no-look pass that split apart the defence. A word for his replacement Baptiste Serin, who scored a sumptuous individual effort.
Getty Images
9/16 1. Ellis Genge (England)
Genge may be consigned to the role of replacement at the moment but he is doing his best to batter the door down to the starting line-up in his own uncompromising way. Twice now he has come on to noticeably improve England’s scrum, which has given them the platform they need to seize control of games, and his try finally broke Scotland’s spirit to take the Calcutta Cup back south of the border.
Getty Images
10/16 2. Julien Marchand (France)
Marchand endured a slight wobble in the lineout mid-match, but it was sandwiched by a virtuoso performance with and without the ball. The hooker was one of Les Bleus most prominent carriers, but he also chipped in with 11 tackles in a 100 per cent defensive showing.
REUTERS
11/16 3. Tadhg Furlong (Ireland)
The Irish tighthead was at his rampaging best to barrel over the Welsh defence and score Ireland’s second try, putting them back in front, but it was his reaction to winning a scrum penalty on their own five-metre line that prompted the biggest roar of the match. Furlong keeps his place comfortably as the outstanding tighthead of the Six Nations so far.
PA
12/16 4. Maro Itoje (England)
Itoje proved England’s defensive linchpin with a whopping 23 tackles in the face of Storm Ciara as the lock made a right nuisance of himself, including in the set-piece where he helped to pick apart the Scottish lineout.
AFP via Getty Images
13/16 5. James Ryan (Ireland)
Ryan keeps his place in the side with another mammoth showing with the ball in hand. Ryan carried more than any other Irish player alongside Larmour to make 50 metres from an impressive 14 attempts, and added onto that was a team-leading 18 tackles that helps to mark him out as the player of the round.
AFP via Getty Images
14/16 6. CJ Stander (Ireland)
Like Ryan, Stander retains his place with a second man-of-the-match gong in as many games. Strictly speaking, Stander played the duration at No 8 this week but such was his performance – and that of a certain Englishman – we had to find space to squeeze them both into the back-row.
AFP via Getty Images
15/16 7. Sam Underhill (England)
The flanker may not have landed all of his tackle attempts but the ones he did – 16 in total – stopped the Scots in their tracks. Underhill showed the best of his game when he needed just a split-second to strip the ball at the breakdown late in the first half and release Elliot Daly to counter.
AFP via Getty Images
16/16 8. Tom Curry (England)
Curry answered his critics in the No 8 shirt with a dominant showing at Murrayfield. The young Sale forward helped protect full-back George Furbank by dropping deep, made 12 successful tackles and led a back-row unit that delivered five turnovers in the opening half, and in a game where the hard yards were tough to come by his 70 metres were game-defining.
AFP via Getty Images
Furbank will stick with the squad this weekend alongside Bath forwards Beno Obano and Tom Dunn, but the non-selected Lewis Ludlam has also been sent back to his club after being named on the bench for Northampton. It means that should anything happen to one of the backs in either Saturday's captain's run or Sunday's warm-up, Furbank is likely to be required to step in and possibly play up to 80 minutes, despite carrying an injury.
With a back-line reshuffle taking place, head coach Jones has put his full faith in Elliot Daly and Jonathan Joseph to cope with the aerial bombardment heading for England, with Ireland’s Conor Murray and Johnny Sexton renowned for their tactical kicking gameplan.
With Anthony Watson already unavailable due to a calf issue, Daly has been moved back to full-back to cover for Furbank’s absence, which has resulted in Jones shifting natural centre Joseph onto the wing to accommodate the fit again Manu Tuilagi – though despite the latter winning his 50th cap this weekend he has never started on the wing for England before – while Henry Slade returns from injury to take his place on the bench.
“Elliot has played a lot of Test football at 15, so he welcomes the opportunity before him,” Jones said. “And JJ (Joseph) has played on the wing for us before.
“He could play 12, 13 or on the wings. We used him on the wings during the World Cup, he’s a versatile player, a great defender in space and he’s got good jumping skills.
“We’ve had a really good preparation, a little bit edgy on Tuesday and Wednesday, but yesterday we had a really good run, probably our best training session of the Six Nations.
“We are really happy with the team. Good strong team, good forward pack, good backs, and it’s great to have Manu and Sladey back in the 23. They are both quality players. They have proven that over the last couple of seasons, so having those two back is a really good bonus for us.”
The three other changes that Jones has elected to make sees Joe Marler replace the absent Mako Vunipola, who has travelled to Tonga for family reasons, with Courtney Lawes replacing Lewis Ludlam at blindside flanker and Ben Youngs returning at scrum-half.