Wallabies to attack England - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Wallabies to attack England

By Paul Mulvey 14/11/2002 09:58:57 PM Comments (0)

Wallaby coach Eddie Jones promised attacking and free-flowing rugby after making five changes and employing a multipurpose backline to play England at Twickenham on Saturday.

Secondrower David Giffin, prop Nick Stiles, hooker Adam Freier and winger Scott Staniforth were all dropped from the team which lost so poorly to Ireland in the Dublin wet last week.

Owen Finegan's tour-ending shoulder injury forced Jones into his fifth change, with Justin Harrison taking his place in the second row to partner Dan Vickerman, who wins his third cap at Giffin's expense.

Jeremy Paul returns at hooker after a hamstring injury and prop Bill Young comes back following paternity leave.

Elton Flatley joins the rejigged backline at inside centre, with Daniel Herbert shifting to outside centre and last week's effective No.13 Stirling Mortlock shunted to Staniforth's wing.

Captain George Gregan returned from his whirlwind dash home for the birth of his second child and said he hoped the impact of his long haul flights wouldn't prove too draining.

"I feel pretty good actually, I rested well on the plane," Gregan said.

"Surprisingly, I'm feeling unjetlagged so far but I'm sure it'll hit me late tonight."

Five-eighth Stephen Larkham overcame a slight hamstring strain while Matt Burke remained at fullback and Wendell Sailor held his place on the wing.

Injured fullback Mat Rogers (ribs) and backrower David Lyons (hip flexor) weren't considered.

Jones responded to accusations that the Wallabies were predictable and one dimensional in the 18-9 loss to Ireland by including a ball distributor like Flatley outside Larkham rather than the straight-running Herbert.

"We're going to be taking a different approach to the game on Saturday," Jones said.

"Hopefully if the conditions are good we want to play the football we came over here to play and this is the game to do it.

"The whole backline is interchangeable and that's the way we're approaching the game. They might start in those positions but that doesn't necessarily mean they're going to play the whole game in those roles, we'll be mixing and matching during the course of the game.

"We're going out with a really positive, attacking attitude. Conditions being even we want to shift the ball around, and part of it is getting some width in our game."

Mortlock was Australia's most penetrative back last week at outside centre but Jones said he would not be wasted on the wing and was hoping he could exploit a match-up with England's 20-year-old newcomer James Simpson-Daniel.

"He'll get the ball in his hands plenty of times," Jones said.

"The role he's created for himself as a left winger is basically as a third centre and that's how we want him to play.

"And to be able to play with two running centres and a running-passing centre is very attractive for us."

Apart from the hefty injury toll, Jones stuck to his plan to experiment in the opening Tests and name his best team against England.

Vickerman returns after impressing in his first run-on Test against Argentina a fortnight ago while Giffin was short of a run in Dublin in his first Test back from shoulder surgery 12 months ago.

"Dan Vickerman played well against Argentina," Jones said.

"David Giffin has not had a lot of football, he is a bit off his best at the moment."

Giffin will get a run off the bench as will Freier, who performed well last week and while Staniforth was also named as a reserve, Stiles lost his place in the 22 altogether.

AUSTRALIA: Matt Burke, Wendell Sailor, Daniel Herbert, Elton Flatley, Stirling Mortlock, Stephen Larkham, George Gregan, Toutai Kefu, George Smith, Matt Cockbain, Justin Harrison, Dan Vickerman, Patricio Noriega, Jeremy Paul, Bill Young. Reserves: Adam Freier, Ben Darwin, David Giffin, David Croft, Chris Whitaker, Matt Giteau, Scott Staniforth.

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