Slade named on England bench

By Mark Stevens
18/11/16

England head coach Eddie Jones has named his side to face Fiji in the second match of the Old Mutual Wealth Series at Twickenham Stadium (kick-off 2.30pm, live on Sky Sports 2).

Teimana Harrison (Northampton Saints) starts at flanker in the only change to the England pack that helped seal a first victory over the Springboks in 10 years. Elsewhere Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby) is named at outside-centre with Elliot Daly (Wasps) moving to left wing. Alex Goode (Saracens) starts at full-back and there is a return for Semesa Rokoduguni (Bath Rugby) on the right wing, having not played for England since his debut in 2014.

On the bench, uncapped second-row forward Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby) is included for the first time in an England match-day 23 and there is also a return for back Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs).

“We’ve picked a side to beat Fiji,” said Jones. “Every Test match is an opportunity for us to keep improving and to increase the depth of the squad.  We’ve made a few changes from last week and those players have a great chance to put their best foot forward and make the team better.

“England at Twickenham is the game Fiji will have targeted on their tour. They are one of the iconic rugby nations of the world and we respect them enormously. They bring flair and an unbridled enthusiasm to move the ball at pace, with running skills – if the game becomes unstructured they can be a very dangerous team. They’ll come to Twickenham with no fear and hungry to cause an upset.

“While we were satisfied with last week’s result against South Africa, there was plenty to improve on. We want a much more complete performance on Saturday – we want to be in total control of the game and tidy-up the things we didn’t do well enough last weekend.”

Slade's new Exeter team-mate Niko Matawalu has been named on the bench for the Islanders, while former Chiefs Josh Matavesi and Nemani Nadolo both start the fixture.

England match-day 23 for the Old Mutual Wealth Series game against Fiji

15. Alex Goode (Saracens, 20 caps)
14. Semesa Rokoduguni (Bath Rugby, 1 cap)
13. Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby, 26 caps)
12. Owen Farrell (vice captain, Saracens, 44 caps)
11. Elliot Daly (Wasps, 6 caps)
10. George Ford (Bath Rugby, 27 caps)
9. Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 62 caps)
1. Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 36 caps)
2. Dylan Hartley (captain, Northampton Saints, 76 caps)
3. Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 66 caps)
4. Joe Launchbury (Wasps, 36 caps)
5. Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 50 caps)
6. Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, 52 caps)
7. Teimana Harrison (Northampton Saints, 2 caps)
8. Billy Vunipola (vice captain, Saracens, 30 caps)

Replacements

16. Jamie George (Saracens, 9 caps)
17. Joe Marler (Harlequins, 43 caps)
18. Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins, 1 cap)
19. Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, uncapped)
20. Nathan Hughes (Wasps, 1 cap)
21. Danny Care (Harlequins, 63 caps)
22. Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors, 1 cap)
23. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 2 caps)