The midfield at Twickenham on Saturday will not be for the faint-hearted.
Stuart Lancaster this morning named his England team to face Wales in the first heavyweight collision in the ‘Pool of Death’.
Heavyweight is the word, as the England head coach recalls bruising No8 Billy Vunipola in the back-row, but Lancaster has also gambled on rugby league convert Sam Burgess at inside centre in place of the injured Jonathan Joseph.
.@samburgess8, @owen_faz and @bvunipola in for pivotal clash against Wales http://t.co/0mdp9JbNBt#carrythemhome pic.twitter.com/uqvdYZ8ZPt
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) September 24, 2015
Just half a season with Bath under his belt, there are doubts about the 26 year old’s technical and tactical abilities but one thing that is not in doubt is his sheer physical strength. Just ask Ian Madigan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzCldRhk4BI
Couple this with his amazing off-loading ability and you have an interesting prospect alongside Brad Barritt in the midfield. Warren Gatland will name his team at 11am but, presumably, he will name Scott Williams and Jamie Roberts as his centres.
Burgess versus Roberts… Could be tasty.
The other major decision taken by Lancaster was to drop fly-half George Ford and recall Owen Farrell for the battle of Britain, with Ford’s father and club coach Mike telling the Telegraph his son was “devastated and gutted” to lose his place after a decent performance in the win over Fiji.
“Of course George was down when he was told which way they were going to go, after having led the line over the last year, he said.
“Having a setback like that is all about how you respond to it. You want players to be emotional about it because that shows they care.”
Lancaster has laid his cards on the table. Over to you, Gatty.
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