Eddie Jones has revealed Owen Farrell is not 100% fit for Saturday’s long-awaited encounter with the All Blacks but said his co-captain will “put his body on the line” after urging England to rewrite history against New Zealand. Jones admitted leaving his “warrior” fly-half out of his side was never an option but also suggested Farrell does not get sufficient protection from officials.
Eddie Jones challenges England to rewrite history against All Blacks | Robert Kitson
The head coach has also handed Chris Ashton a first start for four years against New Zealand but Manu Tuilagi has missed out on the 23-man squad because the centre is “at 99.9999% but just not quite right”. Jones however, could not make the same call over Farrell – the only member of his side to start two Test victories over New Zealand – for a match described by the All Blacks head coach, Steve Hansen, as bigger than last year’s British & Irish Lions series.
“I think players like him are never 100% right,” said Jones. “They get on the field, they play and they give you everything they’ve got and he’s like that. We manage him every week. He’s a tough rooster. He takes the ball to the line, he puts his body on the line, he doesn’t play in a dinner suit. He gets hit, he gets up and he plays and keeps doing it. He’s a warrior. Imagine me going in there and saying: ‘You’re not playing this week.’ You can’t put blokes like him in cotton wool – they want to play for their country.”