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Ruaridh McConnochie is set to win his first cap against Wales
Ruaridh McConnochie is set to win his first cap against Wales. Photograph: David Rogers/Getty Images
Ruaridh McConnochie is set to win his first cap against Wales. Photograph: David Rogers/Getty Images

England and Wales could battle it out to become world leaders

This article is more than 4 years old

Cardiff winners will top rankings if All Blacks lose to Australia
World Cup warm-ups ‘like poker’, says coach Scott Wisemantel

According to the number-crunching boffins who compile World Rugby’s rankings this could be the most significant weekend for a decade. Should Australia beat New Zealand for the second consecutive weekend the winner of the match between Wales and England in Cardiff is poised to take over as the world’s top side just over a month before the World Cup kicks off in Japan.

Within England’s camp, however, no one is getting too excited. Players and coaches alike would prefer to be handed a shiny trophy in Yokohama in early November rather than a computer printout on Monday lunchtime and the management also believe several of their rivals are increasingly engaged in an elaborate game of tactical poker.

Wales were beaten 33-19 at Twickenham last Sunday but England’s attack coach, Scott Wisemantel, reckons every leading side in the world is seeking to confuse everyone else. Watching his native Australia stick six tries on New Zealand in Perth has further convinced him there are more twists to come. “I’m not worried about the Wallabies,” said Wisemantel, an increasingly valuable cog in Eddie Jones’s managerial team.

“It’s like a poker game at the moment. Everyone’s sitting around, playing a few cards and some nice hands every now and then, but I don’t think everyone is showing their full hand. Teams are just holding something back.”

That is definitely the case with England’s selection for Cardiff on Saturday, which once again features some trial combinations under the captaincy of George Ford. Bath’s Ruaridh McConnochie, after a false start last weekend, will win his first cap on the wing with Owen Farrell on the bench alongside two hookers, Jamie George and Jack Singleton.

Without the injured Tom Curry, Sam Underhill and Mark Wilson, Jones had the option of including Exeter’s Matt Kvesic as emergency bench cover but has opted instead to replicate what he would be obliged to do in the event of a similar scenario in Japan. With Courtney Lawes already lobbed the No 6 jersey and Lewis Ludlam at openside, Singleton and Maro Itoje will be pressed into back-row service if there are further casualties.

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The England forwards coach, Steve Borthwick, argues it could even be a positive, insisting all three of his missing flankers would be back in contention to face Ireland on Saturday week. “This is brilliant for us. We’ve got a plan of what we want to do over the four weeks in terms of players and minutes etc. But you’ve also got to adapt. Maro can play there and Jack Singleton has trained there as a utility forward. He runs great support lines, he understands the game in the loose … he’s fit, he’s quick. There are no issues.”

With only 31 berths available in a World Cup squad, the number of “hybrid” players in England’s dressing room is increasing by the day. Anthony Watson, Elliot Daly, McConnochie and Jack Nowell can all fill in at full-back, Piers Francis can slot in at 10 or 12 and Ford has been running at scrum-half again this week.

Jack Nowell is one of many options to fill in at full-back. Photograph: Jed Leicester/BPI/REX/Shutterstock

England also hope the closed roof of the Principality Stadium will be ideal preparation for the opening games of their World Cup campaign in Sapporo and Kobe. Borthwick, who was previously an assistant coach of Japan under Jones, reckons even Cardiff may be a quieter stadium than the former. “I was having a chat with one of the footballers who plays there regularly. He said it was the loudest stadium he’d ever played in. With the roof shut there, it’s a great atmosphere, so this is brilliant practice for us.”

Being able to adjust in the heat of battle is another English objective, with last March’s Six Nations defeat by Wales in Cardiff a case study. England are now working with an expert in the field, Corinne Reid, who is the chair of psychological therapies at Edinburgh University and helped Australia win hockey gold at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics.

“With Corinne it has been more about how we speak to each other on the field and how we can get responses from each other if we find ourselves in a sticky situation with maybe five or 10 minutes to go,” Ford said. “That is partly what she has been working on.”

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