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Ashton calf injury leaves England with a decision to make on the wing

Joe Cokanasiga celebrates his debut try

With Chris Ashton ruled out of England’s game with Wales on Saturday due to a calf strain, Eddie Jones is going to be forced into making changes once again to his back three.

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Jack Nowell started on the wing in the tournament opener against Ireland, before making way for Ashton against France, with Jonny May and Elliot Daly the two constants in the group so far in the 2019 Guinness Six Nations.

That change from Nowell to Ashton surprised many, with the Exeter Chief impressing in Dublin, but it was a selection tailored toward the opposition being faced, a tactic which has worked well for England so far in the competition. With Ashton out this week, it raises the question of whether or not Jones has a tactical ace up his sleeve for the impending threat of Wales.

Nowell could come back into the starting XV, with all the benefits that he will bring to England’s kick chase and contact area work, whilst the other options in the squad are Bath’s Joe Cokanasiga and uncapped Gloucester wing Ollie Thorley.

Both Cokanasiga and Thorley used their opportunities back at their Gallagher Premiership clubs to advantageous effect on the weekend, with Cokanasiga showing off his rare physical gifts and excellent finishing ability in his side’s win over Newcastle Falcons, whilst Thorley tormented the Exeter defence with elusive counter-attacks and clinical play in broken field situations.

With Thorley and Cokanasiga having scores of 86 and 84 on attack in the RPI respectively, figures which outstrip Nowell’s mark of 79, there is no denying the offensive ability that both players bring to the mix, but away from home, against a team as formidable as Wales, it could well be their abilities in other areas that decide the selection.

Cokanasiga has his display against Australia in the autumn in his back pocket, where he showed not only that he can defend competently at international level, but also that he can be a weapon for England in the kick chase and their ability to win back contested balls. Thorley doesn’t lack for energy or work rate in these areas at the Premiership level with Gloucester, but they are, for now, an unknown quantity in the international arena.

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That all being said, Nowell has a proven track record against top class international opposition of being able to do just that and, with that experience, form and all-round game all in place, would seem like the right fit to take on Wales in Cardiff, before Cokanasiga or Thorley could potentially get some playing time in the home tests against Italy and Scotland.

The final alternative could be to move Daly to wing, with Mike Brown coming in at a full-back – or even taking up a berth on the wing – something which a fit Leigh Halfpenny could have possibly prompted from Jones, but the Australian has seemed committed to his decision to move Daly to full-back over the last 12 months.

Watch: The England squad in training during the Six Nations rest week

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J
JW 1 hour ago
Mick Cleary: 'These blokes have done the jersey proud, with their buy-in and with their relish.'

Jesus PR that’s another great conclusion. I can definitely see it as blocker to bringing through new talent in time for the WC. NZ underwent a lot of change in 2018 following the Lions tour, in part thanks to key injuries. Despite the revenue spending Aaron Cruden (getting frail even at his young age then) and Lima Sopoaga (along with Julien Savea), 2 of the 3 1st5s in the Lions squad, both left before the 2019 WC for example. But when we apply your logic, their delayed departure prevented Richie Mounga and Damien McKenzie (the 15 who got injured and threw a spanner in the works) from brought through in what would possible now be considered the preferred WC preparation. Ditto on the win with a scramble of constant change their all the way through to their WC 3rd/4th playoff.


Theres certainly cause to account for certain circumstances eventuating being influenced by a Lions tour. But as both nations here select from domestic players only, theres also cause to put similar emphasis on the contracting model in general, as sometimes you can hold on too long. Ireland has a similar model, talking to another irishman here he suggests it has lead to selecting based on contracts, money being spent on a player centrally contracted. So I would not so much worry about fatigue (in part because some incomplete analysis I had done on all.rugby shows the Irish contingent have low minutes this year) but continuing to select underperforming and aging players. When in a pure context of building for a WC, one would normally want to move on an develop the future.

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