Tuesday 7 June 2016 08:56, UK
Will Greenwood believes George Ford is still in pole position to start at No 10 for England against Australia on Saturday, live on Sky Sports.
Ford has been Eddie Jones' first-choice fly-half for his six Tests as head coach, but the 23-year-old performed poorly with the boot during England's 27-13 win over Wales, missing six of his seven attempts at goal.
The Bath No 10 faced booing and ironic cheers from the Twickenham crowd when he managed to convert Jack Clifford's try just after half-time, resulting in calls for him to be replaced by Owen Farrell.
Jones has used Farrell at inside centre and Greenwood believes the Australian will remain loyal to the side that secured England's first Grand Slam title since 2003.
"I think George Ford will still be in pole position in terms of Eddie Jones," Greenwood told Sky Sports News HQ.
"I am a big fan of George Ford, the crowd of course will look to his kicking stats - but don't worry about them. Farrell will step up and nail five out of six, but Jones is trying to find that balance and fluidity to his backline that is not quite there.
"Although they scored five tries against Wales, it was a bit clunky and needs a bit of WD40. If Jones does not go with Ford, then he will have Farrell at No 10 and move Luther Burrell straight into the inside centre slot.
"But I don't envisage many changes - Jones is not afraid of pulling rabbits out of hats but he is enormously loyal to the players who do him proud and pull off the big wins.
"You suspect that the team that won the Grand Slam in Paris may just get first dibs in Brisbane against those pesky Australians."
Confidence boost
Greenwood believes England will be the most confident side out of the three home nations heading to the southern hemisphere this summer with Wales travelling to New Zealand and Ireland to South Africa.
"It's a massive Saturday for most of the home nations sides," said Greenwood.
"First up we will be in Auckland - I will have Sean Fitzpatrick on one side and Scott Quinnell on the other and Wales will be trying to do something that they have never ever done before - which is win in new Zealand. Wales have only beaten New Zealand once and that was way back in 1953.
"Straight after that, we head over to Brisbane where we could see another first. England may have won in Australia before but never in Brisbane - their record is played four and lost four. Then in the afternoon, Ireland take on South Africa.
"Go back five or six months to the World Cup where New Zealand won it, Australia came second and South Africa came third so it is an enormous challenge.
"In the meantime, they have had a long break while the home nations have fought and scrapped amongst themselves to be top dog. England came out on top and are Grand Slam champions but the acid test, the barometer of how far all these sides have come comes on Saturday."
He added: "England are probably the most confident of all three heading to Australia.
"Wallaby coach Michael Cheika has not called upon the likes of Matt Giteau, Dre Mitchell, Matt Toomua and Adam Ashley Cooper. So four to five of their World Cup final back-line are not available.
"I would not say that an unbeaten England under Eddie Jones' tenure will be over confident, but they will be confident starting the series well at an amazing stadium."
Building momentum
Jones has admitted England's hopes of completing a series victory over Australia hinge on the outcome of that first Test at the Suncorp Stadium, and Greenwood agrees.
"If you go 1-0 down, you can still come back and win the series but it's like Andy Murray going down to Novak Djokovic at the French Open - once you go down two sets to one, then you know you have to win the next two against a guy who hardly loses one set, never mind two.
"Australia very rarely lose two Tests on the spin at home so if you lose the first Test, then you are snookered a fraction. If you get off to a good start, then you are in good shape to go on and nail the series.
"It should be a cracking series and a good chance to see if the gaping chasm between the southern hemisphere and northern hemisphere has got bigger, or are we a little bit closer."
Watch New Zealand v Wales, 8am, Sat, Sky Sports 1 HD followed by Australia v England, 11am, Sat, Sky Sports 1 HD and South Africa v Ireland 3.30pm, Sat, Sky Sports 1 HD. Catch the Tests for £6.99 with a NOW TV day pass.
