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Eddie Jones names the best attacking combination he has ever seen

(Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

An innocuous question about Max Malins and his ability to flit between the wing and full-back wasn’t supposed to elicit a response that had Eddie Jones enthusiastically jumping back through time but that was precisely what he did when asked about the positional flexibility of the Saracens player following the announcement of the England XV to play the USA this Sunday.  

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It was at full-back where the 24-year-old made people sit up and take great notice of him in the recent Guinness Six Nations. 

Having played in that position off the bench against Wales in February, he was picked to start there ahead of the benched Elliot Daly in the win over France and would have started again at No15 in the championship finale in Ireland but for an injury suffered at training the day before.

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The moment the lights went out at a Springboks media briefing

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The moment the lights went out at a Springboks media briefing

By the time he was mended, it was mid-April and what happened between then and the unsuccessful conclusion to his Premiership season at loan club Bristol illustrates his ability to play across the backline. 

Nine tries he scored in seven appearances. There were two starts at full-back, another at out-half and four more on the left wing, the position he will occupy this Sunday for England after Jones elected to give Leicester youngster Freddie Steward a debut cap at full-back. Jones is intrigued over what might unfold with Malins starting in the wide channel for the first time.

“A long time ago when I coached the Brumbies we used to have Joe Roff and Andrew Walker and they played full-back and wing and they were the best attacking combination I have ever seen because they interchanged all the time,” he enthused. “The defence never knew what was coming to them and with Max on the wing, it gives us two full-backs and allows him to play a completely roving role.

“I expect his attacking instincts to be even sharper from the wing than it has been from full-back and we know he can play full-back and we are not discounting that he won’t play full-back in the future, but I feel we can get a lot out of him as a roving winger who can go all over the field and just find the opportunity to attack.”

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SK 44 minutes ago
Why England's defence of the realm has crumbled without Felix Jones

The way they are defending is sometime pathetic to be honest. Itoje is usually on the inside of the rush and he is paired with a slower tight forward. Unable to keep up with the rush we have seen the line become disconnected on the inside where the big boys are. How many times have we seen Earl rush past the first receiver almost into no mans land covering no attacker. It looks like a system without any guidance. Tome Wright, Ikitau and a number of Wallabies went back to this soft centre as did Williams, Jordan and several others. Also when the line is broken the multiple lines of defence seems to be missing. The rush is predicated on a cover and recovery system with multiple lines of defence but with England you dont see it any more. Fitness and conditioning seems to be off as well as players are struggling to keep up with the intensity of the rush. Felix Jones has left a huge hole. The whole situation was and is a mess. Why they insist on not letting him go and having him work remotely is beyond me. Its leading to massive negative press and is a hot button issue thats distracting from the squad. Also the communication around Jones and his role has been absolute rubbish and is totally disjointed. While some say he is working remotely and playing a role others are saying theres been no contact. His role has not been defined and so people keep asking and keep getting different answers. England need a clean break from him and need to start over. Whatever reason for his leaving its time to cut the rope before the saga drags the whole Borthwick regime down. As for Joe El Abd well good luck to him. He is being made to look like an amateur by the whole saga and he is being asked to coach a system thats not his and which has been perfected and honed since 2017 by Nienaber, Jones, Erasmus and Co and which was first started by White in 2004. He is literally trying to figure out a system pioneered by double world cup winning coaches at the highest level and coach it at the same time. Talk about being on a hiding to nothing.

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