Eddie's At It Again

[DGP Wasp]

Why?? Just why??

England starting XV
15 Elliot Daly (Saracens, 41 caps)
14 Jonny May (Leicester Tigers, 54 caps)
13 Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers, 41 caps)
12 Owen Farrell (Saracens, 81 caps) C
11 Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby, 49 caps)
10 George Ford (Leicester Tigers, 67 caps)
9 Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 97 caps)
1 Joe Marler (Harlequins, 69 caps)
2 Jamie George (Saracens, 47 caps)
3 Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins, 33 caps)
4 Maro Itoje (Saracens, 36 caps)
5 George Kruis (Saracens, 43 caps)
6 Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 83 caps)
7 Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 17 caps)
8 Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 21 caps)

Finishers
16 Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, 22 caps)
17 Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 16 caps)
18 Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 1 cap)
19 Joe Launchbury (Wasps, 63 caps)
20 Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 13 caps)
21 Ben Earl (Saracens, 1 cap)
22 Willi Heinz (Gloucester Rugby, 11 caps)
23 Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 27 caps

[mike909]

Its odd at best

Wasps are putting out a better backrow than that.....and why two SRs on the bench when starting three?

JJ hasn't played wing for over 5 years for Bath and would be about 5th choice there.....

[DGP Wasp]

And if we call Daly a centre (which he is IMO) then that's just ONE winger in the whole 23!!!

It's like he just picks his best 23 players and then cobbles them into a team irrespective of position.  Why stop there?  Just limiting it to Rugby Union is far too restrictive.  Let's have Anthony Joshua at number 8, Raheem Sterling at scrum half, Mo Farah at full back, Lewis Hamilton on the wing, Chris Froome at centre???

That'd really give Ireland something to think about!

[Nopace]

Eddie Hall at scrum half?

[wasps]

This shouldn't come as a surprise.

Daly went from a centre, to a left wing, and now to full back.
JJ is just doing the same... Expect to see him wearing 15 for the Autumn Internationals

[Tervueren]

Maybe he cannot tell the players apart?

[Hymenoptera]

Ego maniac that just has to be talked about.

[Skippy]

Eddie’s cunning plan — “I want 15 man total rugby, so I’ll play 15 men out of position. Then they’ll have no choice but do it my way and play total rugby.”

Or get totalled because no one will know which end is up.

[Shugs]

Not sure Jones is taking it seriously any more. Lawes at six just doesn't work. Curry sacrificed again for the sake of his ego. Joseph hung out to dry. Daly shouldn't be in the squad - never mind at FB. Bizarre.

[JonnyD]

Bench selections are again very interesting to say the least.
Still not a massive carrying option despite Launchbury and Ewels on the bench despite the three locks already on the pitch. Crying out for a dombrandt, Hughes or Ewell just to come on and carry hard later on not Ewels and Launchbury with Lawes staying at six or Itoje moving there.
Same in the backs, has Furbank been left out due to the barrage of high balls and pressure he’ll get from ireland? To then out Daly and JJ under the high balls instead.
May is going to have his work cut out again covering all the high balls, chasing our kicks and trying to score tries from nothing yet again

[westwaleswasp]

Damn close to my predicted team, is anyone really surprised?

[Bloke in North Dorset]

And if we call Daly a centre (which he is IMO) then that's just ONE winger in the whole 23!!!

..

When he first played FB for England I remember looking up the number of times he'd played FB for us for a discussion on a sailing forum and was quite surprised at how many times he'd played there.

That said, I think you're right, not least because he appears to have lost a little bit of pace to be a winger, or maybe its just other wingers are now faster.

[mike909]

And if we call Daly a centre (which he is IMO) then that's just ONE winger in the whole 23!!!

..

When he first played FB for England I remember looking up the number of times he'd played FB for us for a discussion on a sailing forum and was quite surprised at how many times he'd played there.

That said, I think you're right, not least because he appears to have lost a little bit of pace to be a winger, or maybe its just other wingers are now faster.

Re playing FB - many a player has had a spell there - Geech played Danny at FB in a Euro final back in the day. And its a position that many a FH has played and visa versa. Goode does for the EA's and Miller does for us.

But at international level - you'd want to have been at least like Josh Lewsey and played regularly at wing and FB. Which I think was/is the most common switch. Watson does this, Robinson did for England, and Campese for the Aussies amongst many.

The 13 to 15 swap is rather less common. 13 to wing more common, but not that common - Halliday from memory for one.

[welsh wasp]

Is anybody surprised by the team or EJ’s comments.