I'm easily confused, but Jones' England over the last couple of years have done little to reduce that confusion.....Two 5th place finishes in a row, in the 6Ns would have been curtains for most coaches. Add to that selections that seemed to go against the strategies/tactics that have worked and would maximise England winning any game over the next 18 months (i.e. to the RWC) and this selection demonstrates little, that provides confidence in England's chances in the RWC. Even allowing for the good draw....
England can win any game - it's nearly always been true - as we can select a powerful pack (probably select several...) which could dominate the set piece, the maul and get lots of possession. We've beaten the ABs several times because of that ability. But Jones' England in the last 2 (and especially the last) 6Ns have made selections that meant England's point of difference was negated - i.e. having a strong pack and having players who get over the gainline by power, offload or pace. And yet we seemed that without players like Billy/Mako V, Manu, Cokasinga or Watson and May, we seemed surprised that we lost 3 games and were pretty lucky in the other one vs Wales....
So - re England's squad....unless we start to look towards where our games have been won in recent times, individual selections - by themselves - are fun to chat about, but unlikely to improve England's chances...
Always a Wasp
