Rugby World Cup: No pain, no gain for England as Eddie Jones vows not to wrap stars in cotton wool before Wales clash
EDDIE JONES says his England stars have to prove they are up for the fight in their World Cup warm-ups.
England take on Wales in Cardiff today — then face Ireland and Italy before they get on the plane to Japan on September 8.
But after Wales lost fly-half Gareth Anscombe and No 8 Toby Faletau to injuries, Jones says he cannot protect his 31-man squad and that they need to be battle-hardened instead.
The Aussie boss said: “It’s like a boxer — a boxer’s got to box. Rugby players have to play rugby.
“There’s a risk involved. But if they get injured, you feel for the player then look to see who the next best is.
“Wales have lost their eight and ten now — it’s difficult for them.
“You’ve just got to get on with it. It’s the risk you take. You can put them in cotton wool and not be ready for the World Cup.
“It would be easy to have nice camps in Treviso and not play games.
“You get them all fit and not ready to play rugby. People get excited about these warm-up games. You’ve got to win, you’ve got to win, and if you don’t, it’s the end of the world.
“For me, it’s about getting players fit, hard, experiment with a few areas, see if they come off — and then hopefully have the 31 you’ve selected on the plane.”
Jones hopes to be able to play injured Jack Nowell (ankle), Mark Wilson (ribs), Henry Slade (knee) and Tom Curry (shoulder) in the final two warm-ups.
World-class prop Mako Vunipola is also close to a return after hamstring surgery.
'EMOTIONAL TIME BOMB'
Luckily for England, their Pool C games in Japan build nicely, with Tonga and USA up first before big guns Argentina and France.
Jones added: “With a squad of 31, we need four games to get the necessary game time for everyone.
“Given our World Cup schedule we’ve got two games in four days. The reality is that most of the squad will probably play in those first two games and we need them to be ready.”
Jones certainly has plenty of fighters in his squad and one guy who will be fired up for battle is Kyle Sinckler.
The Harlequins prop was labelled an “emotional time bomb” by Wales boss Warren Gatland before their Six Nations meeting in February.
And after a superb 50-odd minutes, Gatland’s jibes came true as Sinckler gave away a series of penalties and England collapsed to defeat.
But as he returns to the Principality cauldron, Sinckler said: “I just want to get out there and play.
“I am just itching to get back out there and show what I can do.
“It has been a long training camp and I’m a rugby player so I want to play rugby.”
Another man ready to put his body on the line is Courtney Lawes.
The England enforcer has Alun Wyn Jones in his sights again after taking him down last week.
Lawes floored the Wales skipper with a huge hit and subsequent forearm in the face during last Sunday’s Twickenham thriller.
The 6ft 7in star said: “He didn’t say anything to me, I just got on the pitch and fancied a bit of niggle.
“I didn’t realise I gave away a penalty for it. We just have to go out there and try to take it up a notch from last week.
“I’m sure they’re going to. So if we can match that then take it up a bit, we will be in good stead.”
Asked if Jones could try to get under England’s skin, Lawes said: “He can do if you let him, but most of the time you aren’t worried about what he is saying.
“He’s a good skipper and is one of their talismen. He is a very experienced guy.”
Lawes lines up with Saints team-mate Lewis Ludlam in the back row after the rookie made his debut last week.
And England’s No 6 said: “I played on the flank with him a couple of times last season and we suit pretty well.
“Our style of rugby does seem to go well together and we often make some quite good double tackles so I’m looking forward to that.
“He brings a lot of energy and it’s great to see him do it at international level.”
ENGLAND: Daly; McConnochie, Joseph, Francis, Cokanasiga; Ford, Heinz; Genge, Cowan-Dickie, Cole, Launchbury, Itoje, Lawes, Ludlam, B Vunipola. Replacements: George, Marler, Sinckler, Kruis, Singleton, Youngs, Farrell, Tuilagi.
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