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England's World Cup wannabes face crucial examination as Eddie Jones tests squad depth

Audition: Lozowski is one of several players out to impress ahead of the World Cup: Getty Images
Audition: Lozowski is one of several players out to impress ahead of the World Cup: Getty Images

A fortnight ago, New Zealand sent their second-string to Tokyo to face Japan, while the front-liners were in London, preparing to play England.

The Japanese branch of the All Blacks, with eight debutants, smashed their hosts 69-31 and scored five tries in each half. Another win, another sold-out stadium on foreign soil, an advance for the All Black brand, an advance of their World Cup depth and an untouched squad for the big one in London.

And, by sneaking into Twickenham to watch England play South Africa, they got one over their next opponents, too. A solid weekend’s work.

Eddie Jones will not be able to tick quite as many boxes when England play Japan on Saturday, but he has set his stall out to tick some. He wants the big win but, in getting more experimental than anyone expected he would, he wants to know more about his squad depth, in terms of personnel, positioning and leadership.

Jones knows Japanese rugby better than most, and his 11 changes do not reflect his opinion of their rugby, but his shortage of time to learn before the World Cup. After this, he has 10 games of fine-tuning, with only two games against Italy coming against lower-ranked opposition than Japan.

The autumn programme is bruising, too, and it would have been silly, possibly even self-destructive, to have the same core to the XV in all four weeks. For all those out before it even began, England are still averaging a series-ending injury per week in this month.

All week, England’s players, most notably Kyle Sinckler on Wednesday, have spoken lucidly about the threat posed by Japan so, given the two teams have not met since 1987, they must have done their research.

Jones sees them as a team built in the image of the Dunedin-based Super Rugby franchise the Highlanders, from where his full-time successor as Japan coach, Jamie Joseph, joined (along with his sidekick Tony Brown). Jones seems certain they are stronger than when he coached them.

Jones says “they are the highest kicking team in the world”, who will look to keep the ball alive. Keep an eye on the constantly-namechecked wing Kenki Fukuoka, who has 17 tries in 27 Tests and lines up opposite Joe Cokanasiga, who is half-a-foot taller and six stone heavier. Japan are a bigger team than they once were, in the scrum and the centres particularly.

Jones would never admit to looking further ahead than England’s next game, but this week — and his team — have been built with next year’s World Cup in mind.

They open their tournament on a Sunday evening against Tonga in Sapporo, in Japan’s far north, and play four days later against the USA in Kobe, 930 miles to the south. There will be little time to prepare and the schedule will require a high turnover of play and a stretch of Jones’s squad. After that, England will only play on the weekends, with plenty of scope for rest, for the remainder of the World Cup.

So, they researched Japan the morning after beating New Zealand, then left camp until Tuesday afternoon. They have trained just twice this week and, with a little introduction to Japanese culture, via Tuesday’s sushi night, Jones has an eye on the World Cup, too.

Some of those given a chance by Jones this weekend might not get another. Joe Cokanasiga offers something England’s excellent set of wingers do not, but must prove fast that he is an option for 2019, not 2023. On the bench lurks Ted Hill, a 19-year-old who has started just one Premiership game, but who Jones compares to Reuben Thorne, the former All Blacks captain. He was originally selected as an apprentice and is still officially in Worcester’s Academy and it is hard to believe Jones will invest too many precious pre-World Cup caps on him if he does not immediately star.

Jones will be interested to see how his usual finishers start, notably Jamie George and Danny Care, and how his usual starters finish, like Dylan Hartley and Henry Slade. He talks about “order changes”, and they will definitely be needed at the World Cup. His depth of leadership, with George Ford and Maro Itoje in charge, with Elliot Daly as a trusted lieutenant.

Bath winger Ben Cokanasiga will make his England debut in an experimental side (PA)
Bath winger Ben Cokanasiga will make his England debut in an experimental side (PA)

But most of all, Jones wants more players to prove they can play in more positions. “At the World Cup, as you have seen on so many occasions, you need players to be able to play multiple positions,” he said. “We are trying to get ourselves to where we are covering different options. At the World Cup, you don’t know what is going to happen and they (the players) are going to be tested.”

Can Mark Wilson have the same impact at open-side as he has at No8? Will Alex Lozowski deliver on his promise at centre (he should play some of the game at both 12 and 13)? Most notably, can Jack Nowell be the Conrad Smith-style outside centre Jones wants him to be?

Last week, England showed they could go toe-to-toe with the All Blacks’ best. Now it is time to make a statement and show they pass their depth test, too.