England vs Tonga: Eddie Jones selects side built for ‘ferocious battle’ against Pacific Islanders
Thirteen of Jones’s starting line-up were part of the side that demolished Ireland last month, with the England coach determined to beat Tonga at their own game
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Your support makes all the difference.Eddie Jones says he has selected a side capable of matching the Tongan intensity that they will face in Sunday in what he expects to be a “ferocious” opening to the Rugby World Cup.
The England head coach selected the bulk of the side that thrashed Ireland last month in their Twickenham warm-up encounter, with only Courtney Lawes and Anthony Watson coming into the side to add power and pace in abundance.
Tonga head coach Toutai Kefu named a strong squad to face England that only features four of the starting XV that was thrashed 92-7 by the All Blacks two weeks ago, and Jones believes the result will be a very different contest inside the Sapporo Dome on Sunday night.
"That was Hamilton two weeks before the World Cup; this is Sapporo now. Completely different opposition, completely different mindset,” said Jones.
“We've got a different mindset from the warm-up games, they'll have a different mindset and we've got the greatest respect for Tonga as a World Cup opponent.
"If you look historically Tonga has punched above their weight at every World Cup and we are anticipating a ferocious battle on Sunday. We want to take them on. We are England and we want to take them on up front so no one will come out of there guessing."
The decision to bring Lawes in for George Kruis came as something of a surprise, given how impressive England were in defeating the Irish and running eight tries past them with an exemplary lineout display. But Lawes’s presence does bring an added intensity and defensive aggression against a side that is expected to face exactly that.
Cokanasiga’s omission on the other hand is not as surprising, given he has struggled with a knee injury this week and will be held back for later in the tournament.
"Lawes is in good form at the moment, he's moving very well,” Jones added. “We think he's very suited to play against the Tongans.
"It's a combination of factors, we feel Anthony Watson this week is the right player to play against Tonga and Joe will definitely have an opportunity further down the track.
"We've had four really good warm-up games and we feel this is the right balance for the team this week and we feel they can do the job for us.
"When you pick any team you are looking for the right amount pf ball-winning capabilities and ball-usage capabilities and then the ability to the stop the opposition doing what they want to do.”
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