Don Armand has been called up by Eddie Jones for England’s final Six Nations match against Ireland on Saturday after Courtney Lawes and Nathan Hughes were ruled out with knee injuries. Armand won his solitary cap against Argentina last summer but Jones has since resisted calls to select the Zimbabwe-born back-row and previously questioned his work rate. With England outgunned at the breakdown in back-to-back defeats by Scotland and France, however, and the loss of two members of his starting back row, Armand was included in a 32-man squad on Sunday night.
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The 29-year-old is enjoying a fine season with Exeter and has the power Jones stated was lacking after Saturday’s defeat in Paris. England missed Hughes badly when he went off in the first half and, with Lawes also out of action – both are due to have scans on Monday – Armand fits the bill for the hard-edged forward needed against Ireland. Jones, however, does not believe England can significantly fix their breakdown problems before facing Ireland – or even before the 2019 World Cup. He has pinpointed that area as his side’s main weakness and believes the problem is deep-rooted in the English game, putting his players at a profound disadvantage compared with Ireland, the newly crowned Six Nations champions.
“I’m worried about the breakdown; we’ve got to sort [it] out and find ways of getting quick ball,” Jones said. “If the game continues to be refereed like this, the World Cup is going to be very contestable at the breakdown. If that’s how they want to do it, we’ve got to adapt to that. We can address it and keep getting better at it but the reality is we probably won’t get better at it until the World Cup.”
With only one Premiership club in the last eight of Europe’s Champions Cup – there are four from France’s Top 14 and three from the Pro14 – the problems encountered by England are mirrored at domestic level. Jones did not attribute any blame to the Premiership sides but the contrast is vast between England, whose interests often collide with that of the clubs, and Ireland, where the relationship is far more symbiotic.
Asked if Irish provinces’ approach at the breakdown gives their national side an advantage, Jones said: “It’s pretty obvious. There are obviously similarities [between England and the Premiership clubs]. The French contest hard at the breakdown and the Pro14 sides contest hard at the breakdown, so they get used to playing that sort of game.
“It’s not a club problem. It is our problem. I can’t blame the Premiership. We’ve got our problems that we’ve got to sort out at international level. We’ve got to break old habits first, then introduce new habits. It’s the hardest thing to do.”
James Haskell, who made his first England appearance since last March against France, also acknowledged the difference between Premiership and international matches. “We’re coming from the Premiership, where no one competes at the breakdown, into the Six Nations where every team is throwing lots of people into it,” he said. “We haven’t been quick enough to adjust to that. International rugby is dramatically different now from where it was 12 months ago. It’s lot more of a power game.”
In the past Jones has recruited the former Australia flanker George Smith as a consultant but the head coach does not believe a specialist breakdown coach is the answer. “I don’t think it’s a technical problem. There are other issues apart from being technical and a lot of it has got to do with power.”
As a result the absences of Billy Vunipola and Hughes are keenly felt, as is that of a fit and firing Manu Tuilagi. “Manu’s off the pace and he just needs consistent rugby but certainly he’s the sort of guy that suits the sort of rugby that’s being played at the moment,” Jones said.
Armand and Haskell, as well as Kyle Sinckler, likewise fit the mould and may come into the side against Ireland after catching the eye off the bench in Paris. England have also called up Exeter’s Henry Slade for the first time in this year’s competition after recovering from a shoulder injury.