Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for free Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter
Pep Guardiola has invited Eddie Jones and his England staff to visit Manchester City following Saturday’s Rugby World Cup final.
Jones visited Guardiola during the Catalan’s time in charge of Bayern Munich in order to observe training and learn from his methods.
The England head coach described his time with Guardiola as “fascinating” and “bloody brilliant”, claiming it left him “embarrassed” by his own coaching.
Guardiola was reminded of this encounter on Friday, on the eve of England’s final against South Africa in Yokohama, and sent his best wishes to Jones and his players.
“We spoke once or twice. He was so kind, it was a pleasure to see him and meet him,” Guardiola said.
Predicted England team vs South AfricaShow all 24 1 /24Predicted England team vs South Africa Predicted England team vs South Africa England vs South Africa Eddie Jones will announce his team to face South Africa in the Rugby World Cup final on Thursday, but who should he select?
Getty
Predicted England team vs South Africa 1. Mako Vunipola Has the chance to cement himself as the current best loosehead in the world, though he looked absolutely drained when he came off against the All Blacks. England will hope he’s managed to refill the tank.
AFP via Getty Images
Predicted England team vs South Africa 2. Jamie George His lineout throwing last weekend was excellent bar one high-profile mishap, so at least there is room for improvement. However, the Springboks have plenty of lineout threats themselves, so his evening will not be an easy one.
Getty Images
Predicted England team vs South Africa 3. Kyle Sinckler Enjoyed another excellent outing against the All Blacks but comes up against a formidable opponent this weekend in the form of Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira. His scrummaging will need to be the best it’s been all tournament.
Getty
Predicted England team vs South Africa 4. Maro Itoje Every team in the world would welcome a Maro Itoje into their squad, such has been the way that he has taken the World Cup by storm. Has grown into a supreme lineout caller and proved a maul-demolisher against the All Blacks.
PA
Predicted England team vs South Africa 5. George Kruis Eddie Jones could go either way at lock this weekend, but the admission that he is wary of the physical presence that South Africa will bring late in the game due to their bench could see him choose to change Courtney Lawes’s role this week.
AFP/Getty Images
Predicted England team vs South Africa 6. Tom Curry There is simply no way Curry and Underhill can be broken up for what is England’s biggest match of a generation, and anyone concerned of whether he will match up against the Springboks needs only look at his breakout tour of South Africa last summer. Conveniently, four of his 18 caps so far have come against this weekend’s opposition.
Getty Images,
Predicted England team vs South Africa 7. Sam Underhill Like Curry, is proving his weight in gold to this England team by leading the defensive charge in the most physical of fashions. Will face a big test at the breakdown up against Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi and Francois Louw though.
AFP via Getty Images
Predicted England team vs South Africa 8. Billy Vunipola Described by Eddie jones as a player for the big occasion, they don’t come any bigger, and you get the idea that the time is right for Vunipola to deliver his biggest performance of the entire World Cup.
AP
Predicted England team vs South Africa 9. Ben Youngs No longer has the safety blanket of having Willi Heinz with him, but Youngs has proven a steady performer throughout England’s time in Japan. It will be interesting to see how he matches up against box-kick extraordinaire Faf de Klerk though – it is an area where the game could be won or lost.
AFP via Getty Images
Predicted England team vs South Africa 10. George Ford England went on the attack against New Zealand by deploying Ford and Farrell, and they should go for the same again given how they want to impose on the Springboks’ predictable playing pattern.
PA
Predicted England team vs South Africa 11. Jonny May He remains England’s most dangerous wing but his fitness is a big concern, having suffered a hamstring injury as well as a dead leg over the last two weeks. The former certainly appeared to affect his pace when he couldn’t beat All Black lock Scott Barrett, which was a worrying sign.
AP
Predicted England team vs South Africa 12. Owen Farrell Another who enters the week with an injury doubt hanging over his head, having suffered a dead leg himself last weekend, but Farrell appears to be growing into the World Cup both as a player and a leader by the week.
Getty
Predicted England team vs South Africa 13. Manu Tuilagi South Africa will hate playing against a player of his unmatchable power, which could cause serious problems for Lukhanyo Am and the wings.
REUTERS
Predicted England team vs South Africa 14. Anthony Watson The fact that he hasn’t scored a try this World Cup beggars belief, such has been the standard of his play. Watson beat the first defender every time he got the ball against the All Blacks, such was the dazzling ability of his footwork.
PA
Predicted England team vs South Africa 15. Elliot Daly Will face a barrage of tactical kicking like he has not experienced before at international level, and it could prove a long evening for the full-back if he is not on the money.
Getty Images
Predicted England team vs South Africa <b>Replacements:</b> 16. Luke Cowan-Dickie His lineout reliability is coming on well to the point that Eddie Jones is no longer worried about putting Cowan-Dickie on against strong set-piece sides.
AFP via Getty Images
Predicted England team vs South Africa 17. Joe Marler His strong scrummaging will come in handy when the match ticks down towards the business end.
Getty Images
Predicted England team vs South Africa 18. Dan Cole Made a real impact against New Zealand when he came off the bench that shows Sinckler doesn’t have to do it all on his own.
PA
Predicted England team vs South Africa 19. Courtney Lawes His physical dominance and athletic ability will be needed in the latter stages of the match, along with how well be performed in the lineout and maul last time out, with South Africa holding back RG Snyman and Franco Mostert.
Getty Images
Predicted England team vs South Africa 20. Mark Wilson He made his mark against New Zealand well by winning a crucial penalty deep in England’s own half following a New Zealand break, and a runout in a World Cup final would be just desserts for what he has given to England over the last 17 months.
AP
Predicted England team vs South Africa 21. Ben Spencer Has barely set foot in Japan and finds himself in the squad for a Rugby World Cup final. Is brutally harsh on Willi Heinz who has impressed in his first England campaign, but this could be the opportunity for Spencer to show he’s not just a Premiership-calibre player.
Getty
Predicted England team vs South Africa 22. Henry Slade Could find himself in the starting line-up to try and counter the South African physicality, but that would be something of a defensive move by England and Slade offers plenty of versatility off the bench as we saw last week.
Getty Images,
Predicted England team vs South Africa 23. Jack Nowell Given the torrid campaign that he has endured, it would be wonderful to see Nowell fit enough to play in a World Cup final. It is the least he deserves for all the hard work he has put in.
Getty
“We talked about some movements in rugby, I’m a big fan but I don’t understand too much about the sport but I watch on TV.
“I will ask him how they can regenerate the players like they do after the games, it’s incredible – how can they survive? I cannot imagine. We spoke about sport, about life, nothing special.”
Guardiola said he would be happy to meet Jones again after Sunday’s final and invited him to Manchester in order to pick his brains.
“We can learn from a lot of them,” he said. “We didn’t spend too much time together but hopefully they can win and we can invite him and his staff to come here and we can talk more.
“It would be nice for all of us, especially me. So we wish them luck and hopefully they can win. It was nice but it was short [when we met in Munich].”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies