Autumn Nations Cup: England vs Georgia talking points
England face Georgia at Twickenham on Saturday in their Autumn Nations Cup's opening fixture (3.15pm kick-off). Eddie Jones' side welcome the Lelos to the home of English rugby for the first time in the minnows' history. Ireland and Wales are also in Group A
Last Updated: 14/11/20 10:40am
England open their Autumn Nations Cup against Georgia at Twickenham on Saturday as they look to build on their recent Six Nations success.
Read five talking points ahead of kick-off below...
A star is born?
Jack Willis' Test debut is one of the easier selection decisions head coach Jones has made.
The Wasps flanker is a force of nature at the breakdown, a supreme poacher of opposition ball to the extent he was named Rugby Players' Association and Premiership player of the year for 2019/20.
Apart from the obvious courage it takes to contest for the ball, Willis is blessed with the flexibility to get into awkward positions and the strength to ride the hits as they land. Still only 23, a stellar future awaits.
Riches at openside
Willis is the latest in a succession of outstanding opensides to appear from the Premiership conveyor belt.
For years England relied on six-and-a-halves to get the job done, but the emergence of Tom Curry and Sam Underhill changed the dynamic of their back-row.
Curry and Underhill are class acts, while snapping at their heels for the past nine months is the marauding Ben Earl. With Willis joining their ranks, Jones is spoilt for choice.
Autumn blues
Administrators deserve huge credit for setting up a tournament amid the dire circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic.
With the southern hemisphere giants forced to cancel their customary end-of-year tours, a void was created in the rugby calendar with the Autumn Nations Cup devised as an emergency alternative.
The staging of any internationals at all is to be applauded, but there is no escaping the fact a contrived format of the Six Nations plus Fiji and Georgia is no substitute for collisions with New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.
The entertainment factor
Jones rejects the idea that England must not only win, but also serve up a spectacle at a time when the game is contending with a financial crisis caused by Covid-19.
Rugby is battling for its place in the sporting landscape and the final round of Six Nations fixtures staged a fortnight ago will have attracted few new fans.
With no supporters present to supply noise and colour, the poor quality of the matches was emphasised. A grinding win will do little to engage audiences at home.
David vs Goliath
Some bookmakers are offering 150/1 that Georgia can stage one of the biggest upsets in rugby history at Twickenham on Saturday, but even those odds fail to reflect the size of the task ahead of them.
The world's 12th ranked team had never defeated a Tier 1 nation in history until Japan were classed as one as recently as May - and even then, Georgia have lost to the Brave Blossoms four times and won just once over the last decade.
In 31 previous attempts against Tier 1 sides, they have fallen to defeat.
They will be tough and confrontational and will ask questions up front, especially in the scrum where they could cause problems, but anything other than a resounding England victory will be classed as a bad day at the office.
Team News
England: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Jonathan Joseph, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Henry Slade, 11 Jonny May, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Ben Youngs, 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Jamie George, 3 Will Stuart, 4 Charlie Ewels, 5 Joe Launchbury, 6 Maro Itoje, 7 Jack Willis, 8 Billy Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Tom Dunn, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Ben Earl, 20 Tom Curry, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Max Malins, 23 Joe Marchant.
Georgia: 15 Lasha Khmaladze, 14 Akaki Tabutsadze, 13 Giorgi Kveseladze, 12 Merab Sharikadze (c), 11 Sandro Svanidze, 10 Tedo Abzhandadze, 9 Gela Aprasidze; 1 Mikheil Nariashvili, Shalva Mamukashvili, 3 Beka Gigashvili, 4 Lasha Jaiani, 5 Grigor Kerdikoshvili, 6 Beka Saginadze, 7 Giorgi Tkhilaishvili, 8 Beka Gorgadze.
Replacements: 16 Jaba Bregvadze, 17 Guram Gogichashvili, 18 Lexo Kaulashvili, 19 Otar Giorgadze, 20 Tornike Jalagonia, 21 Vasil Lobzhanidze, 22 Deme Tapladze, 23 Sandro Todua.