England's Calcutta Cup centre conundrum

Heading into Calcutta Cup week, there aren’t too many selection issues on England head coach Eddie Jones’ plate.

If fully-fit, Nathan Hughes should start at No 8 following Sam Simmonds’ injury and Joe Marler will likely regain his place on the bench after serving a six-week ban. If Hughes isn’t fit, then James Haskell could be in line to join the back-row, having also served his six-week ban. Perhaps Jack Nowell can push for selection on the wing, but it would be out of character for Jones to tinker with the back-three, with Anthony Watson, Jonny May and Mike Brown having all shown up well in the opening two rounds.

Elsewhere, the team looks as though it will largely pick itself, with the one notable exception being the outside centre berth.

Ben Te’o started England’s Six Nations opener against Italy, whilst Jonathan Joseph was drafted in to face Wales and both players played key roles in securing those victories, making it a tough call for who to go for against Scotland.

Here is our take on the possibilities.

Scenario 1: Jones picks Joseph

Joseph has tended to be Jones’ go-to man over the two and a half years he has coached England and he has developed from being a source of attacking x-factor, into one of the best defensive outside centres in the game.

He was officially recalled to the XV to play Wales because the second games in injury comebacks are, apparently, the hardest, with Te’o’s appearance against Italy being his first since he injured his ankle in October. A possibly more plausible explanation is that the width with which England defended against Italy was concerning, with the Azzurri having got out and around England several times in Rome, and there was no desire to allow a Welsh back-line built around the Scarlets’ high-tempo success, the same leniency.

Joseph’s blitz-and-drift is as good as that of anyone in the English game, thanks to his impeccable decision-making, which has been honed and refined over the last few years. The Bath man always looks to put pressure on with his line-speed, but if he feels he can’t get to the player or ball in time, he will quickly shift to drifting and he has a lateral quickness that Te’o doesn’t, meaning teams rarely get outside of him, even when he has sprinted five-to-ten metres directly at the first or second receiver initially.

Both Watson and May trust him on their insides and they are rarely caught in two minds about having to shift their attention to an inside man, instead allowing them to focus on the widest threat and ensure England rarely face overlap situations.

When you consider the multi-dimensional threat that is Huw Jones and the proclivity of the Scottish back-three to score tries in the wider channels when Stuart Hogg joins the back-line, opting for Joseph is going to be the best way of mitigating this threat.

A fit and firing Hughes is also going to alleviate some of the burden on the back-line of having to break the gain-line, potentially keeping England on the front-foot and allowing Joseph’s attacking game to shine, too.

Scenario 2: Jones picks Te’o

There is certainly an element of countering Scotland to the selection of Joseph, whereas picking Te’o would indicate England will be looking to force their style of play upon the hosts.

Te’o may not be able to shift out wide as quickly as Joseph, but that doesn’t mean he is a poor defender. He blitzed well against Italy, shooting out of the line on three separate occasions and making strong one-on-one tackles each time.

It is in attack, however, where his influence would be felt most strongly.

For all the progress England have made as an attacking unit during Jones’ tenure, the lack of a carrying option in the centres that can run hard and straight has been their Achilles’ heel, particularly in games where the forward pack has been evenly matched by the opposition or Billy Vunipola has been absent.

Te’o brings that skill set to the England back-line and if you can combine that with a high tempo of play, the English back line is as hard to stop as any in international rugby. With Te’o running back against the grain, drawing in two, three or even sometimes four defenders to him, and the playmaking axis of George Ford and Owen Farrell quickly folding around the corner, England are able to manufacture overlaps and mismatches and they have the players savvy enough to exploit that.

Throw in Brown’s ability as a strike runner, or even just as a decoy, and England can create space in a flash.

With no Alex Dunbar, a key defensive cog for Scotland, available to Gregor Townsend, Te’o’s ability to cause problems and hesitation for the defensive line is something Jones may be reluctant to miss out on.

Scenario 3: Jones picks both Te’o and Joseph

If Te’o brings a good, albeit less mobile, blitz and line-breaking power, and Joseph brings excellent defensive reading and the ability to beat players on the outside, why not select them both? It’s a combination that would not look wholly unlike the pairing of Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith that the All Blacks used with such success for so many years.

The simple answer is that it would mean breaking up the Ford-Farrell partnership and that chemistry may be the most effective facet of this England team at present.

That said, it is an option and one it would be interesting to see play out, especially as the last time Farrell got to solely run the back-line – with Brad Barritt and Manu Tuilagi outside him – he was a significantly more one-dimensional player than the hybrid threat he has developed into now.

England did go to a Farrell-Te’o-Joseph combination in the second half against Wales, but given the way that game was going, it was designed either to steal a bit of momentum back from Wales or to, at the least, try and see the game out.

It would be a dynamic worth exploring from the start of a game, but away at Murrayfield with a Grand Slam still a possibility? Perhaps not.

Maybe in the summer when England tour South Africa.

(Future) Scenario 4: Jones picks neither Te’o nor Joseph

Given the 29-man squad Jones has retained for the clash, it’s a certainty that one of the two will start against Scotland – cue Nowell making this entire article irrelevant with a shock selection – but could England look at different options in the future?

One player who had looked to be verging on an England debut prior to an unfortunate injury was Harlequins’ Joe Marchant. His progress could be well worth watching, as he may represent somewhat of a ‘best of both worlds’ option between the contrasting skill sets of Te’o and Joseph.

He doesn’t, yet, excel in the individual facets in the same way that pair do, but he does give a more balanced approach. He has good lateral quickness, without quite the decision-making of Joseph, and isn’t afraid to run hard, straight and back against the grain, albeit without the sheer power of Te’o.

Why trade two masters of their crafts for a jack of all trades?

Maybe you don’t, but players with well-rounded games and no obvious weaknesses are hard to find. At just 21 years of age, Marchant is worth keeping close to the England camp, as he could eventually end the ‘either or’ argument and become a productive player in both Te’o’s and Joseph’s areas of strength.

The elephant in the room is, of course, Tuilagi, but until he can string together a few months of rugby without injury and knock off some of the rust, delving deeper into what he could offer England would just seem to be tempting fate.

Another Quin – and recent England apprentice – could be worth watching here, in Gabriel Ibitoye, although the club seem firmly set on developing him as a wing, with Marchant pencilled in at 13.

Looking further ahead, Worcester’s Ollie Lawrence and Sale’s Cam Redpath are two more players who could, if they continue to develop, also bring this hybrid skill set to the table, but they are players to keep an eye on after the 2019 Rugby World Cup.