England coach Jones back Malins to handle the pressure against France

England head coach Eddie Jones back Max Malins to handle the pressure after gifted rookie is handed his first start against France – and captain Owen Farrell says full back is ‘quick, strong and can make things happen’

• Defending champions England have lost two of their opening three matches
• Coach Jones has made three changes to his starting XV for clash with France
• Malins, Cowan-Dickie and Ewels come in to the team for Saturday’s encounter 

Owen Farrell does not indulge in hype but he was happy to talk up the new full back who England will unleash against France on Saturday.

The national captain has witnessed the development of Max Malins at Saracens and he has seen how the 24-year-old’s progress has accelerated during a loan spell at Bristol.

Now Malins has been selected by Eddie Jones for his first start, in the No 15 shirt at Twickenham, and Farrell is convinced that the gifted rookie has all the attributes to thrive on this grand Six Nations occasion.

Max Malins starts in place of the out-of-form Elliot Daly at full back for England against France

Elliot Daly has been demoted to a place among the reserves on the back of unconvincing form 

‘Max is a dangerous full back,’ he said. ‘He makes things happen. He beats people. He’s quick and he’s strong and he’s got a great instinct about the game, which is a brilliant quality to have. He has been on an upwards curve in terms of his performances and playing more regularly.

‘At Saracens, he was still learning and showing some real bits of brilliance. Now he has gone to Bristol in a year that has been brilliant for him and gone through the roof in terms of regular game-time and showing how good he is consistently.

‘He has always been someone who makes things happen. He has grown up as a fly-half predominantly, then a fly-half who can play a bit of full back and now probably leaning a bit more towards full back. He has always been able to beat people and open the game up. That’s been constant. He’s probably now just doing it more and more, with the chances that he’s got.’

Exeter hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie starts in place of Jamie George at Twickenham on Saturday

2005

The only time England have suffered three defeats in their first four games of a Six Nations, when they lost their first three before beating Scotland and Italy.

Those are the playing qualities that Farrell believes can see  Malins emerge as a game-breaking asset to England, but he will need mental resilience, too — to cope with the elevation to a significant role at international level, after a handful of cameos off the bench.

The skipper is not concerned. ‘I don’t think his character will come into question because he’ll take confidence from the way his form has been and the way he has been training,’ Farrell added.

Jones picked Malins ahead of one of his stalwarts, Elliot Daly, who has been demoted to a place among the reserves on the back of unconvincing form.

The head coach will not accept that any player is dropped — insisting they are merely reassigned — so that thorny issue was not addressed. Instead, he settled for some encouraging words about Malins.

Eddie Jones is all smiles as he takes England training this week ahead of the France clash

‘He’s really impressed us,’ said Jones. ‘He’s got a good kickreturn game, a good feeling for the game, brings pace on to the ball and particularly playing against France, who are the highest kicking and longest kicking team in the world, the full back is pretty busy, so he will have a big role for us.’

Another player who will have a big role is Luke Cowan-Dickie, the Exeter hooker who will start ahead of Jamie George. Jones paid tribute to the Chief who has  made great strides of late, in terms of his performances and all-round professionalism.

‘His power has really come to the fore and he is in the best physical condition I’ve seen,’ said Jones. ‘He’s made a few adjustments to his lifestyle and committed to being the best player he can be.’

Bath captain Charlie Ewels has replaced Jonny Hill as a starting lock, with a view to taking on the job of running the lineout, which has fallen to the over-loaded Maro Itoje during the early part of this championship. And Worcester centre Ollie Lawrence has been recalled as one of three backs on the bench, with Jones lauding him as someone else who has improved physically.

‘Since the autumn, he has gone from 96kg in bodyweight to  99kg,’ he said. ‘He is in much better condition and there are other parts of his game which he has worked really hard to improve. I couldn’t be more pleased with his progress.’

England have been working with referees Matthew Carley and Wayne Barnes in an attempt to solve their disciplinary issues. Part of that process has been practising the scenarios which undermined them in Cardiff during the defeat against Wales.

‘Handling the disappointment of the game is the most important thing,’ said Jones.

‘We’ve tried to create sessions to replicate a disappointment in the game — a bad call by the referee or unfair conditions in the game — to put the players under pressure. There are going to be moments when they are tested like that. We need to make sure we keep our focus.’

On a personal level, Farrell has recognised the futility of protesting when contentious calls go against his team. ‘You never change a referee’s decision,’ he said. ‘You can agree or disagree, and try to have a dialogue to understand things, but we are not really part of the decision.’

On Saturday, England and their captain have a prime opportunity to prove these vital lessons have been learned. 

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