That theory could yet be tested should the visitors lose the remaining two Tests by sizeable margins but, either way, the England captain, Courtney Lawes, will continue to argue there is little point from a longer-term perspective in England sticking to the status quo and sneaking the odd win here and there.Ĭourtney Lawes will win his 100th cap in the second Test in Brisbane.
A cynic might wonder if Jones now accepts England will not win the next election – sorry, World Cup – without another overhaul and is sure his job is safe even if this tour ends messily. Marchant, Joe Cokanasiga, Harry Randall, Max Malins, Ben Earl … fail to shine relentlessly and the trapdoor abruptly opens. It must also be sapping the morale of the players to see so many of their friends being steadily discarded. Of course, there might be future benefits in promoting Freeman now and starting the Leicester pair of Van Poortvliet and Porter ahead of their Harlequins rivals Danny Care and Joe Marchant but, should it result in a fifth straight loss under Jones, the renewed promises of Vegemite tomorrow will wear even thinner. He would be laughed out of the bottle shop.
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Imagine an England cricket captain trying to sell that idea midway through a still-undecided Ashes series in Australia.
It would also clearly give the management more breathing space if people can be persuaded a major Test series defeat is no big deal because youth development is the primary aim. Best wishes, of course, to the talented Jack van Poortvliet, Tommy Freeman and Guy Porter on the occasion of their first England starts, but their collective promotion at the expense of more seasoned alternatives only makes sense through the hazy prism of next year’s World Cup.
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