A big change but it could be a winner for England vs Wales at the Rugby World Cup
- England face Wales in their Rugby World Cup 2015 clash at Twickenham
- Stuart Lancaster is set to replace George Ford with Owen Farrell
- Sam Burgess will give hosts physical presence to deal with Jamie Roberts
- England's hand has been somewhat forced by injury to Jonathan Joseph
This change to the England midfield is a big call. Owen Farrell is a hard-as-nails player with a big-match temperament and close to his best form again.
I have said before that he has been challenging for the starting spot at No 10. Sam Burgess also has a physical presence that could be useful against Jamie Roberts & Co.
There is no such thing as a wrong selection if it gets the desired result and England will not have made such changes lightly, even though I assume Jonathan Joseph would have started had he not picked up an injury.
You take the World Cup match by match, and we are not privy to what England’s thoughts are for Wales.
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England are set to drop fly half George Ford as they opt for a more physical approach against Wales
Ford is expected to be replaced by friend Owen Farrell (right) for the World Cup showdown at Twickenham
Cross code star Sam Burgess will give England a physical presence to take on the likes of Jamie Roberts
England coach Stuart Lancaster has decided to swap the scalpel for the hammer against the welsh
My concern would be that by swapping the creativity of Ford at 10 and the potent threat of Joseph at 13 for two much more physical and direct players, England could be reducing the effectiveness of their back three — probably the team’s strongest unit.
Burgess prefers the pop pass or off-load out of contact so England’s wings will need to be aware of that. They have only played alongside him in one Test.
When you have injuries it’s often best to keep other changes to a minimum. Henry Slade is certainly the nearest like-for-like player England have for Joseph and his selection would have been the call that minimised the changes.
But the result is what matters and I believe whatever midfield England opt for they will beat Wales.
Jonathan Joseph's injury in the opening game against Fiji has forced England into making changes
Stuart Lancaster has ignored the more straightforward option of replacing Joseph with Henry Slade
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