Eddie Jones and England hope ‘finishers’ repeat history against Italy | Robert Kitson

England will be hoping Six Nations history is about to repeat itself. Fourteen years ago they kicked off the tournament with home success over France followed by a victory in Cardiff and then met Italy on the middle weekend. Then, as now, their penultimate fixture was a Calcutta Cup duel with Scotland at Twickenham prior to a juicy finale in Dublin.

Nor do the similarities end there. With one eye on winning the next World Cup, England’s then head coach, Clive Woodward, spotted an opportunity to make judicious changes to his previously settled XV against an Italy team who had just lost heavily at home to Ireland. With the captain Martin Johnson nursing a sore achilles tendon, a 23-year-old Jonny Wilkinson was promoted to lead the side out for the first time, Josh Lewsey wore 15 and Joe Worsley and Danny Grewcock started up front for Neil Back and Ben Kay respectively.

The upshot was a 40-5 win, scrappy in parts after a blistering start, which effectively secured Lewsey’s place in Woodward’s first XV and made a crucial difference to the team’s World Cup blend in Australia later in the year. Eddie Jones has more leeway between now and Japan in 2019 but similar imperatives apply. With all due respect to Italy, the visitors’ grim Twickenham record offers Jones a perfect chance to tinker and give some of his so-called “finishers” a start in a high-profile tournament environment.

With the Italy game – as was also the case in 2003 – taking place on a Sunday, England do not have to confirm their lineup officially until Friday morning. Jones, though, has already discussed adopting a different, more proactive style and picking the players to match. The 2003 precedent would suggest he should be as bold as he dares; excessive caution may just complicate his life in the longer term.

Preparing for unforeseen future eventualities should probably include rotating his hookers, not because Dylan Hartley is not an inspiring captain (his leadership record is impossible to argue with) or short of form but because there will come a time when Jamie George has to start a major Test with Hartley, for whatever reason, unavailable to do so.

Regardless of Hartley’s premature withdrawal after 46 minutes in Cardiff, starting George should not even be seen as a massive deal. Aside from gently reminding all and sundry no one is untouchable – one of Jones’s perennial themes – it would also have the benefit of allowing the Saracens man to pit himself against a fired-up Test pack from the outset, not just when they are tired or wearing numbers in the upper teens.

Furthermore, it would help to demystify the captaincy issue, both inside and outside the camp. Ideally England want to be flush with leaders and, gradually, a promising fresh batch of contenders is starting to emerge.

Owen Farrell currently heads that posse and on the occasion of his 50th England cap, is due to run out first anyway. At 25 he is nearly two years older than Wilkinson was when he first took charge; this is hardly a callow stripling.

If a changing of the old guard is about to happen, however, Jones has yet to flag it up. The word on the street, never totally reliable, suggests Hartley will be retained, probably alongside Joe Marler and Kyle Sinckler with Mako Vunipola back in the front-row mix from the bench. It may just be Sinckler is the key bit of this equation; for all the Harlequins player’s devastating promise in the loose, his scrummaging at the highest level is an ongoing project.

Assuming Dan Cole is rested and the 23-year-old Sinckler starts, the temptation to retain the experience of Hartley by his side grows stronger.

The glowing terms in which England’s scrum coach, Neal Hatley, spoke about Farrell on Tuesday, however, suggested one of two things: either the fly-half has been buying multiple drinks for the front-row union or his impact within the team-room is increasing whether he is captain or not. “I thought I’d struggle to see someone who was as professional as George Ford but Owen’s also there,” said Hatley. “I’m really impressed with him; what he does with the team is world-class.”

So when the crunch comes, as now, with England honour-bound to reward the in-form Ben Te’o with a midfield start, what does Jones do? An enticing option would be to shift Farrell to 10, temporarily ask Ford to join the replacements and scare the living daylights out of the Azzurri by including Elliot Daly, Anthony Watson, Jack Nowell and Jonny May in the same starting XV. There is also a decent case for someone like Henry Slade on the bench; not so long ago his distribution was making Sam Burgess look good in England’s midfield and the combination of him and Te’o, with the pace of Daly or Watson at full-back, in the last quarter, would pose Italy even more unenviable questions.

If that means a weekend off for Jonathan Joseph or Mike Brown, so be it. They can be recalled against Scotland, just as Woodward’s regulars were in 2003. Back then England, with Johnson once again in command, dispatched the Scots 40-9 and then flattened Ireland 42-6 to clinch a famous grand slam.

Shuffling the side against Italy did not exactly stunt their progress. Jones prefers to look forward not back, but some parallels are too compelling to ignore.