Rugby World Cup: England hand Sam Burgess crucial role for pivotal clash with Wales
SAM Burgess has been given a starting role at centre for England’s pivotal Rugby World Cup match against Wales at Twickenham this weekend.
SAM Burgess has been given a starting role at centre for England’s pivotal World Cup match against Wales at Twickenham this weekend.
A chest injury to Burgess’s Bath team-mate Jonathan Joseph has seen the 26-year-old former South Sydney NRL star - who has played just 112 minutes of Test rugby union - given the role of outside centre alongside Saracens midfielder Brad Barritt.
In another bold move from coach Stuart Lancaster, Owen Farrell starts at fly-half in place of the demoted George Ford.
POWER RANKINGS: how is the Pool of Death looking?
BONUS POINTS: Wallabies only thinking about wins
The decision to drop Ford to the bench has come as quite a shock given the Bath playmaker has been England’s first-choice No 10 for the best part of a year.
In selecting Burgess alongside Barritt, Lancaster has now opted for his 14th different midfield combination since taking charge in 2012.
The trio of Farrell-Burgess-Barritt is certainly the most physically powerful midfield three available to Lancaster, with England expecting a bruising gainline contest against the Welsh.
Meanwhile, No 8 Billy Vunipola - who like Burgess and Farrell impressed off the bench against Fiji last weekend - starts in place of Ben Morgan, who is out with a knee injury.
With Burgess and Vunipola now starting, Alex Goode comes on to the bench to provide cover at both full-back and fly-half, with veteran James Haskell involved as a back-row replacement.
Former England fly-half Toby Ford warned the decision to relegate Ford to the bench could leave the 22-year-old “pretty devastated” as he has “been dropped when he hasn’t actually played that badly”.
Burges has been a union player for just 10 months and for much of that time has been deployed as a back-row by Bath.
He has so far made just one start in three Test appearances and doubts remain about how he will fare against a Wales backline set to include British and Irish Lions centre Jamie Roberts.
Joseph’s brilliant try may have been the highlight of England’s 21-16 win over Wales in the Six Nations in Cardiff in February, but the victory was built on a superb ball-carrying effort which, in part, explains the inclusion of both Farrell and Burgess for this weekend’s match.
England’s plan appears to be to wear Wales down and then use their strength in depth off the bench, including Ford, in the final quarter - a strategy that worked well in their bonus-point win over Fiji.
Originally published as Rugby World Cup: England hand Sam Burgess crucial role for pivotal clash with Wales