Owen Farrell looking forward to backline with Marcus Smith, Manu Tuilagi as England prepare for Argentina | Rugby Union News

Owen Farrell is back to lead England against Argentina after completing his return to play protocol

Owen Farrell says England are ready for a tough encounter with Argentina and can’t wait to work in defense with Marcus Smith and Manu Tuilagi.

Farrell will lead England at Twickenham Stadium after returning to form following a concussion. Tuilagi and Joe Cokanasiga also return to the squad, with Northampton striker Alex Coles set to make his Test debut.

Farrell joined England earlier this week without traveling to Jersey for training camp due to a concussion while playing for Saracens.

The England captain admitted he found it difficult to be on the sidelines while the rest of the squad trained.

“I can’t wait to get back, it’s not nice sitting at home and not doing much,” said Farrell, after being named captain on Friday.

“It would have been nice if I got down to something, but I was just sitting at home. I’m not the best at sitting there. It just got me excited to come back this week.

“I wasn’t allowed to overdo it, so I was just trying to rest to sleep and make sure I gave myself the best chance.”

England face an Argentinian side who beat Australia and New Zealand in the Rugby League as Los Pumas continue to develop under manager Michael Cheika.

“It’s a big [challenge]“, Farrell noted. “A tough, tough game. Obviously, it’s a very physical and passionate team that we have to be ready for.

“They have danger all over the court. By the minute, they seem to be able to strike from any point. It’s not just structured situations that are opportunities for them, but unstructured ones, especially with the backs they have. We have to make sure we’re engaged for 80 minutes.

Farrell will lead England with Smith on one side of him at fly-half and Manu Tuilagi on the other at outside centre. It’s a unit that has been highly anticipated by English fans and Farrell himself wants to develop further.

“I’ve known Manu for a very, very long time, we’ve been playing together since we were 17. Obviously we’ve both known Marcus quite well over the past couple of years,” he said.

“This is another opportunity for this relationship [10-12-13] develop. We have worked as hard as we can in training to make sure we progress forward, but the real test comes on Sunday.

“We want to make sure everyone knows it’s about the team and that’s how we progress as a group. Like I said, it’s going to be a big battle first. “Before in this test match, then we have to be ready as a three and as a baseline to make good decisions as a result of this.”

Owen Farrell and Marcus Smith are to team up and both are eager to expand

Smith and Farrell have only played together a handful of times and the England captain believes there is a lot of growth and development going on.

“You get to know each other no matter what,” Farrell said. “The main thing is that we are both enthusiastic and passionate enough to not only get to know each other, but also to improve quickly.

“A lot of our conversations revolve around that. I’m very happy to do it, I could talk that way all day and Marcus is similar. He’s someone who wants to improve, improve and lead this team as best he can.

“It’s also important to know the person. We’ve known each other for quite a while, haven’t played together too much, but he’s been involved here for quite a while and spent some time on this Lions tour. We I can’t wait to get in. It’s a special talent.

Farrell and Smith have the sense and the ability to exchange within English structures, which they have already done and the captain explained more about it.

“All we’re trying to do is get each other on the ball in places that we think are our strengths. It doesn’t come from us, it fits the frame of the team,” Farrell said. .

“He’s someone who can split a game and make something happen out of thin air, we want to involve him as much as possible in those kinds of situations. I guess that’s part of my job as give him the ball in those kind of situations.”

Jones: We have several captains in our team | “An adaptable leadership group”

England head coach Eddie Jones believes his side are headed for a solid leadership group, led by Farrell, who can perform under any circumstances.

Indeed, with the likes of Courtney Lawes having taken the armbar in Farrell’s absence, Jones knows he can look to several members of his team to take on this role.

“We anticipate a number of people to be captains and we will need them,” Jones said.

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“We’ve just seen Courtney captain the team in Australia and Owen could play and get knocked out in the first minute of the game or given a yellow card, so we’re ready for a number of people to take the job. captain.

“We want to develop this adaptable leadership group that can lead this team in all circumstances and that’s our goal and we’re moving towards that every time we come together.”

Although Jones knows he can count on a number of players, he still thinks Farrell is the main man leading England at the moment.

“He just has a huge competitive spirit,” he added.

“He wants to win, he knows how to win and I don’t think I’ve seen too many players with his competitive spirit.”

England’s encounter with Argentina marks the start of a busy autumn of international fixtures with fixtures against Japan, New Zealand and South Africa to follow on successive weekends.

England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Owen Farrell (c), 11 Jack Nowell, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Ben Youngs; 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 4 Alex Coles, 5 Jonny Hill, 6 Maro Itoje, 7 Tom Curry, 8 Billy Vunipola.

Replacements: 16 Jack Singleton, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Dave Ribbans, 20 Sam Simmonds 21 Jack Willis, 22 Jack van Poortvliet, 23 Henry Slade.

Argentina: 15 Julian Cruz Mallia, 14 Mateo Carreras, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 1 Thomas Gallo, 2 Julian Montoya, 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 4 Matias Alemanno, 5 Tomas Lavanini, . Juan Martin González, 7 Marcos Kremer, 8 Pablo Matera.

Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Lucas Paulos, 20 Facundo Isa, 21 Eliseo Morales, 22 Tomas Albornoz, 23 Matias Orlando.