England are in must-win territory already in this autumn’s Ashes after a humiliating and worrying defeat in Saturday’s series opener against Australia.
That, combined with the nature of their defeat at Wembley Stadium, means that Shaun Wane is almost certainly going to have make changes going into this weekend’s second Test at Everton.
How many he makes is up for debate, with talk already raging about what the England head coach will have to do in order to fix things up and get his attack clicking.
The first port of call almost certainly revolves around AJ Brimson. It seems unthinkable that England would fly a player with such talent halfway around the world to not play in either of the first two Test matches, especially after the scratchy form of Jack Welsby at Wembley.
Brimson, simply put, has to play. He probably has to start at fullback too. That is one cast-iron change you can foresee happening in Liverpool on Saturday afternoon. But where does that leave Welsby? Well, there are moving parts elsewhere that could suggest he isn’t going to be completely dropped from the 17.
Let us be in no doubt that in terms of talent, Welsby belongs in this team. But he isn’t quite performing, nor has he been at club level for St Helens – but you would think Wane would try to find a place for him in the 17 somewhere. With that in mind, do England need to carry two hookers who can both play big minutes?
Both Daryl Clark and Jez Litten can – and have in 2025 – play 80 minutes without a rest. So it may well be that Wane opts to go with just one of them to give his bench, and indeed his spine, a possible point of difference off the bench. Litten was arguably the stronger of the two on Saturday, looking sharp when he came on from the bench.
So that could leave the door ajar for Welsby to take the 14 shirt and have a spot on the bench. It would also enable England to rotate their shape in attack if things aren’t going to plan. It’s a big call, but as discussed at the start of this article: England are in must-win territory. Bold and brave changes may well be required.
But you wouldn’t expect wholesale changes. There have been calls to bring Joe Burgess in but Tom Johnstone did everything expected of him and more on Saturday, while Dom Young also did okay. The three-quarter line – and the half-back pairing of George Williams and Mikey Lewis – shouldn’t really change.
However, England need some aggression and pep injected into the pack. There was a distinct lack of an enforcer on Saturday – which is where Morgan Smithies comes in. It was a surprise Smithies didn’t make the 19 for the opening Test: surely he comes into contention this week.
Starting both Smithies and Morgan Knowles may give the pack an extra edge. Ethan Havard would be the unfortunate man to miss out in our book if Smithies came in – with the rest of the pack staying the same.
That includes John Bateman – another seemingly popular target but who offers Wane reliability and plenty of energy and intent in defence.
Predicted England team: AJ Brimson; Dom Young, Herbie Farnworth, Jake Wardle, Tom Johnstone; George Williams, Mikey Lewis; Morgan Knowles, Jez Litten, Matty Lees, John Bateman, Kai Pearce-Paul, Morgan Smithies. Bench: Jack Welsby, Mike McMeeken, Alex Walmsley, Owen Trout.
