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England vs Wales team news: Anthony Watson and Mark Wilson return as Eddie Jones makes two changes

Jack de Menezes

Thursday 05 March 2020 11:44 GMT

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Rugby - Eddie Jones says to step up game against Wales

Anthony Watson and Mark Wilson will make their first international starts of the season as they return from injury for England’s Six Nations clash with Wales on Saturday after Sam Underhill was ruled out with injury.

Eddie Jones has made two changes to the side that beat Ireland 24-12 two weeks ago, with Watson replacing Jonathan Joseph on the wing and Wilson coming in for the injured Underhill, who was named man-of-the-match against Scotland earlier this tournament. Joseph meanwhile misses out on the matchday squad due to selection reasons.

Watson’s inclusion on the right wing sees Jonny May switch back to the left wing, while Joseph, George Furbank, Underhill and Lewis Ludlam are the retained players who miss out this week.

The rest of the squad resembles the one that defeated the Irish so convincingly at Twickenham, meaning Owen Farrell captains the side and a six-two split on the bench is retained.

Joe Marler continues at loosehead prop with Mako Vunipola stood down this week after travelling back from Tonga via Hong Kong, meaning the England camp were reluctant to bring him into camp due to the fears surrounding the coronavirus outbreak that has also claimed next weekend’s finale between Italy and England in Rome.

Jamie George and Kyle Sinckler join Marler in the front row with Maro Itoje and George Kruis continuing at lock, while Courtney Lawes and Tom Curry complete the back row with on-loan Sale Sharks flanker Wilson, who has made just one appearance for the club this season since suffering a knee injury.

Ben Youngs is retained at scrum-half after signing a new deal with Leicester earlier this week, with George Ford at fly-half and Manu Tuilagi partnering Farrel in the centre, while May and Watson are joined by Elliot Daly in the back three.

Ellis Genge has to make do with another week on the replacements’ bench, where he is joined by Luke Cowan-Dickie and Will Stuart, while both Joe Launchbury and Charlie Ewels feature alongside Saracens back-row Ben Earl, leaving just Willi Heinz and Henry Slade to cover the backs.

“We’ve had a really good two week preparation – a fallow week in Oxford where we had good training days last Thursday and Friday and three good training days this week culminating in a very good session Wednesday,” Jones said.

Six Nations team of round two

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1/16Six Nations team of round two

Six Nations team of round two

Six Nations team of round two

England regained the Calcutta Cup with a 13-6 victory over Scotland, while Ireland maintained their 100 per cent record with a bonus-point win over Wales and France stumbled their way past Italy. So who makes our team of the weekend after round two?

Getty Images

Six Nations team of round two

15. Jordan Larmour (Ireland)

The Irishman has looked assured since replacing Rob Kearney as Ireland’s No 1 full-back and brought Saturday’s Aviva Staium encounter to life, beating four Welsh defenders with a beauty of a side-step that opened the door for the first try of the match. Kearney remains a pair of safe hands at the back, but Larmour is proving how he gives Ireland an extra cutting edge in attack.

AFP via Getty Images

Six Nations team of round two

14. Andrew Conway (Ireland)

Conway is quietly going about his business as the best-performing wing so far in the Six Nations, having put in two very strong performances so far. The Munster-man looked strong in defence and took his chance when it presented itself to seal the bonus point.

AP

Six Nations team of round two

13. Arthur Vincent (France)

Given the task of replacing the injured Virimi Vakatawa and did himself justice with an assured performance. The centre contributed well with ball in hand but it was his defensive work that stood out with 16 successful tackles to lead the line in stopping a much-improved Italian side.

AP

Six Nations team of round two

12. Sam Johnson (Scotland)

A few contenders for the shirt as both Owen Farrell and Bundee Aki has positive impacts this weekend, but Johnson gets the nod for being the standout Scot in defeat during the Calcutta Cup clash. The centre has put in two good performances in as many weeks, only for no reward.

REUTERS

Six Nations team of round two

11. Matteo Minozzi (Italy)

His head-to-head battle against Teddy Thomas saw both score tries, but it was Minozzi who showed a more all-round game that helped drag Italy back into the fight when they were in danger of being blown out of the game. As well as his try, Minozzi showed good awareness and handling to link with his teammates to unlock the most impressive defence from the opening weekend.

EPA

Six Nations team of round two

10. Johnny Sexton (Ireland)

George Ford performed well under pressure at Murrayfield and Romain Ntamack did well attacking-wise, but Sexton’s return to form cannot be overlooked. The Ireland captaincy is helping to bring the best out of him once more, and not only did he vary up his pass-to-kick ratio nicely, but he also put in a solid shift defensively – as depicted by his busted cheek when he was eventually replaced.

REUTERS

Six Nations team of round two

9. Anthoine Dupont (France)

The first of four players to maintain their place in our team of the weekend, Dupont is threatening to make the Player of the Tournament award a one-man race if he maintains this level of performance. It was his miss-pass that sent Gregory Alldritt in for a try, while he also made another outside break and no-look pass that split apart the defence. A word for his replacement Baptiste Serin, who scored a sumptuous individual effort.

Getty Images

Six Nations team of round two

1. Ellis Genge (England)

Genge may be consigned to the role of replacement at the moment but he is doing his best to batter the door down to the starting line-up in his own uncompromising way. Twice now he has come on to noticeably improve England’s scrum, which has given them the platform they need to seize control of games, and his try finally broke Scotland’s spirit to take the Calcutta Cup back south of the border.

Getty Images

Six Nations team of round two

2. Julien Marchand (France)

Marchand endured a slight wobble in the lineout mid-match, but it was sandwiched by a virtuoso performance with and without the ball. The hooker was one of Les Bleus most prominent carriers, but he also chipped in with 11 tackles in a 100 per cent defensive showing.

REUTERS

Six Nations team of round two

3. Tadhg Furlong (Ireland)

The Irish tighthead was at his rampaging best to barrel over the Welsh defence and score Ireland’s second try, putting them back in front, but it was his reaction to winning a scrum penalty on their own five-metre line that prompted the biggest roar of the match. Furlong keeps his place comfortably as the outstanding tighthead of the Six Nations so far.

PA

Six Nations team of round two

4. Maro Itoje (England)

Itoje proved England’s defensive linchpin with a whopping 23 tackles in the face of Storm Ciara as the lock made a right nuisance of himself, including in the set-piece where he helped to pick apart the Scottish lineout.

AFP via Getty Images

Six Nations team of round two

5. James Ryan (Ireland)

Ryan keeps his place in the side with another mammoth showing with the ball in hand. Ryan carried more than any other Irish player alongside Larmour to make 50 metres from an impressive 14 attempts, and added onto that was a team-leading 18 tackles that helps to mark him out as the player of the round.

AFP via Getty Images

Six Nations team of round two

6. CJ Stander (Ireland)

Like Ryan, Stander retains his place with a second man-of-the-match gong in as many games. Strictly speaking, Stander played the duration at No 8 this week but such was his performance – and that of a certain Englishman – we had to find space to squeeze them both into the back-row.

AFP via Getty Images

Six Nations team of round two

7. Sam Underhill (England)

The flanker may not have landed all of his tackle attempts but the ones he did – 16 in total – stopped the Scots in their tracks. Underhill showed the best of his game when he needed just a split-second to strip the ball at the breakdown late in the first half and release Elliot Daly to counter.

AFP via Getty Images

Six Nations team of round two

8. Tom Curry (England)

Curry answered his critics in the No 8 shirt with a dominant showing at Murrayfield. The young Sale forward helped protect full-back George Furbank by dropping deep, made 12 successful tackles and led a back-row unit that delivered five turnovers in the opening half, and in a game where the hard yards were tough to come by his 70 metres were game-defining.

AFP via Getty Images

“Wales are a very tough, well-coached side and they’ve been building on their attack since Wayne Pivac has taken over.

“It’s always a tough game against Wales and we know they will bring that toughness to all the contest areas.

“We’re looking forward to playing at home again and getting back out in front of our fantastic fans.”

England team vs Wales

Elliot Daly; Anthony Watson, Manu Tuilagi, Owen Farrell, Jonny May; George Ford, Ben Youngs; Joe Marler, Jamie George, Kyle Sinckler; Maro Itoje, George Kruis; Courtney Lawes, Mark Wilson, Tom Curry.

Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, Joe Launchbury, Charlie Ewels, Ben Earl, Willi Heinz, Henry Slade.

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