There may be bigger collisions to come in this Six Nations but this weekend’s Italian job holds plenty of significance for several individuals on England’s teamsheet. Fail to “light up Rome” as Eddie Jones has been repeatedly urging and the head coach may just consider pulling the plug on some Test careers. Shine in a ruthless all-round performance, on the other hand, and a brighter future may well beckon.
Few would have predicted this reshuffled England combination even a fortnight ago and it feels like an appropriately thumbs up/down moment for certain players. Will Stuart, Charlie Ewels, Alex Dombrandt, Harry Randall, Joe Marchant and the fit-again Jack Nowell, plus the uncapped replacement Ollie Chessum, will all feel that this is an opportunity they badly need to take.
With Jones going out of his way to mention the seven injured senior players currently unavailable to him, last weekend’s loss in Edinburgh has further raised the stakes. While Luke Cowan-Dickie would probably have started again had he been able to train more this week, Jones appears to be stress-testing virtually every unit of the team ahead of loftier challenges down the track.
Perhaps the most significant area of all, assuming Maro Itoje is not going to make a permanent switch to the back row, is the 8-9-10 axis of Dombrandt, Randall and Marcus Smith. Depending on your taste in such things, it is either the most exciting of English boy band trios or a major risk. Those who have been following the Gallagher Premiership for the last 12 months will almost certainly tend towards the former.
Ben Youngs, now set to win his record-equalling 114th England cap off the bench, may not be among them but for anyone else keen to see what England can really do if they take the handbrake off the chariot and attack with the tempo, dexterity and verve of which they are capable, it promises to be an instructive afternoon.
Given England have racked up 50 tries in their last eight games against Italy and average six tries per game at the Stadio Olimpico since 2014, however, the final verdict will not simply hinge on the numbers. The search for consistent English rhythm goes on and so does the slight sense of not, as yet, fulfilling their true potential. Playing Smith without his good Quins mate Dombrandt has always felt a bit like hiring only half of the Two Ronnies. With the nippy Randall between them, lightening quick and with a keen eye for a gap, the Azzurri are going to have their hands full if they give England time, space and a steady stream of quick ball.
Which is where England’s rejigged pack come in. There were good aspects of Murrayfield – the return of the maul as a dominant weapon high among them – but Ewels and Stuart have been enduring a torrid season with Bath and will be want to prove there is a big difference between club and country form. The return of Jamie George and the myriad jumping options bode well for the lineout but Jones will be primarily looking for a collective reaction to the disappointment of the last quarter at Murrayfield.
In short, England need to make a statement and Jones will not mind if there is a flash or two of anger in their demeanour. In midfield the latest partnership of Henry Slade and Joe Marchant also looks better balanced, even if Gloucester’s Mark Atkinson must be wondering what he has to do to get a start at 12.
Jones, though, now believes the way forward lies in picking players capable of reacting on the hoof rather than sticking to set patterns largely dictated by the numbers on their back. As ever, it sounds great as long as it works. If it does not, England do at least have the insurance of a seasoned bench containing 409 caps, more than their entire starting line-up combined.
There are almost echoes of 20 years ago when England picked the ultimate bench, comprising four England captains with 316 caps between them. The photo of Jason Leonard, Martin Johnson, Lawrence Dallaglio and Matt Dawson all taking the field together remains a classic but it does not tell the entire story. That same weekend France were scooping the title having previously beaten Clive Woodward’s side in Paris, making England’s comfortable win in Rome an afterthought.
This time Italy may initially prove more of a handful than some anticipate with Kieran Crowley determined to instil some fresh zest into a side that has now lost 33 consecutive Six Nations games. If it is hard to imagine KC and his blue-clad sunshine band delivering the biggest hit in this fixture’s history, it might be a rockier first 40 minutes than the visitors expect. Equally it will surprise no-one if England subsequently enjoy a far more enjoyable last 20 minutes than they did last week.
