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England will take on the Barbarians at Twickenham in a warm up game for the English ahead of their South Africa tour as the international rugby season gets under way.
There will be some great talent on display and it will be interesting to see how NRL convert Semi Radradra performs so be sure to join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting from midnight AEST.
As with any BaaBaas game, there are many subplots to the action that will be interesting to keep an eye on as well as what we hope will be some exciting game play on the field.
For England the tour to South Africa is critical and this first step is an important one as Jones looks to get back some of the rhythm and success that saw the team rise to No.2 in the world at the end of 2017.
Three back to back losses in the Six Nations to Scotland, France and Ireland has raised many question marks though over the England team.
With there being about 15 matches left for them before the World Cup begins there is little time left to try new things – they will want to be adding depth to the squad this year rather than experimenting too much with new players and combinations.
But this squad for the BaaBaas game and the tour to South Africa does have quite a bit of youth about it.
Names such as Trinder, Mercer, Singleton and Schonert won’t be known on the international stage yet but they will want to impress Jones from the outset and show him that they should be in his plans for Japan.
The centre pairing of Henry Trinder and Piers Francis will be interesting to watch. England have tried a number of partnerships in the centres during Eddie Jones’ reign and none have absolutely stamped their names on the spots.
Owen Farrell is likely to play No.12 on tour but if Ford’s international form continues to be average, then Jones might start thinking about moving Farrell into the fly-half role and looking for a new centre set up.
Alternatively the returning Cipriani might find himself moving from international banishment to starting No.10 for his country.
Cipriani starts on the bench for this game and there’s debate about whether he’ll come on at full back or fly half but just the fact that he’s there is an interesting story.
The back row for England will also be under some scrutiny. One of the issues with England in the Six Nations earlier this year was that the go forward from the forwards was really missing and with Billy Vunipola playing for his club in the English Premiership Grand Final the day before, Sunday’s game will provide an opportunity for Mercer and Curry to show that they can bring some power to the England pack.
For the BaaBaas there is some serious talent on display and with their captain Lobbe retiring after the final whistle, they will want to send him out on a high.
While they might have spent more time in the bars of London than on the training field this week they will be keen and eager to get stuck into the English, none more so than Chris Ashton who starts at full back.
The speedster was top try scorer in the French Top 14 league this year and he’d like nothing more than to show Eddie Jones that his decision to drop him was a poor one.
Speaking of speed, it will also be exciting to see what former Parramatta Eels winger Semi Radradra can do on the big stage.
His debut season in the French Top 14 wasn’t quite as impressive as he’d have hoped with a combination of drama and lack of tries but he is a serious attacking weapon. While the Eels have been desperately missing his ability to smash into defensive lines and leave them lying in pieces, the BaaBaas will be looking to take full advantage of that same physicality.
At No.10 the BaaBaas have Finn Russell who will relish being able to beat England twice in quick succession. The Scottish fly-half tore England apart during the 6 Nations this year and the English defence will know that they cannot take their eyes of him for a second when he’s got so much talent around him to unleash.
Prediction
Understandably BaaBaa games are tough to predict and with an experimental England side on display as well there are plenty of unknowns.
The England team will want to win and win well and while there is some great talent on display for the BaaBaas, the home team should get the job done.
England to win by 12.
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting from midnight AEST on Sunday.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.