Henry Arundell is intent on showing his skill for England after high praise from Eddie Jones; Jonny May is set to miss the second Test; watch the second Test between Australia and England in Brisbane on Saturday July 9, live on Sky Sports Action from 10.15am
Tuesday 5 July 2022 11:48, UK
Henry Arundell is determined to forge his own path to rugby stardom amid comparisons with greats of the game such as David Campese and Bryan Habana.
Arundell produced one of the most dynamic debuts in English rugby history when scoring a try and helping to set up a second in the closing stages of Saturday's 30-28 defeat by Australia immediately after coming on from the bench.
The 19-year-old's seven-minute cameo on the wing was a continuation of his explosive form for London Irish in his debut professional season, but at Perth's Optus Stadium he announced his arrival to the world.
Eddie Jones compared his debut to that of Wallabies great Campese, while South Africa's deadly finisher Habana and Wallabies genius Matt Giteau have also been referenced.
With such high praise coming his way, Arundell says he is determined to keep proving he is worthy of such compliments.
"They're very high compliments and are great, but I've got to make sure I keep proving it," said Arundell, who is set to be retained on the bench for Saturday's second Test.
"Eddie drives that through the whole team - drive is improvement for yourself to keep getting better.
"It's fun when you get the comparisons and stuff, but, at the end of the day, you have to be your own player and do your own thing."
Arundell's brother and dad jetted out to Perth to watch his debut and will also be present for the next instalment of the series in Brisbane this weekend.
"On a personal level and for my family as well, it was an incredible, incredible day. I didn't think I'd ever do that type of thing, so I'm really excited about that, but there's a bigger focus," Arundell said.
"It's great to score a try, but guys like Owen Farrell have almost played 100 Tests and that's the goal for me, to be at that sort of level.
"Owen gave me one of his shirts after the game to say well done. There's a mutual understanding that great, that's happened, but the Test series is the main thing - and winning the World Cup next year."
England wing Jonny May could miss Saturday's second Test against Australia as he continues his recovery from Covid.
England have clarified to Sky Sports News that May is continuing his phased recovery and has not been officially ruled out of the game yet.
May tested positive for Covid on arrival in Perth ahead of the series and was forced to spend seven days in self-isolation, which ended too late to feature in the opening 30-28 defeat at Optus Stadium.
The 32-year-old was expected to be restored to the wing at the expense of Joe Cokanasiga but he has been unable to train fully since leaving quarantine, placing his involvement in the remainder of the series in doubt.
"It was a long seven days for Jonny! He's been back on his feet today (Tuesday) running, but he didn't join in with the team. It will be a graded return to full training for him," defence coach Anthony Seibold said.
"We tried to include Jonny while he was in isolation, so sending him the team meetings, the backs meetings.
"We've used him as a really experienced Test player. We have a really young group in the backs, so he's been a bit of a resource for those guys."
May's unavailability means Eddie Jones must decide whether to persevere with the underperforming Cokanasiga on the left-wing or give Henry Arundell a full debut or award Tommy Freeman his first cap.
Jack Nowell's impact carrying around the edges in the first Test assures him of continuing on the other wing.
England's squad will be reduced to 35 players when Curry returns home on Wednesday, his tour ended by the concussion incurred in the first half in Perth.
Curry's head whipped backwards while tackling Sami Kerevi but having been given the all-clear during an on-field examination, he presented with symptoms at half-time and was ruled out by an HIA.
Three head knocks over the last six months have resulted in a cautious approach to his recovery.
"It's about looking after the welfare of Tom. There's a longer-term piece at play with Tom's health," Seibold said.
"He's had some concussions over the recent period of time so the medical staff would rather err on the side of caution. We don't have any concerns over his medium to longer-term health.
"The medical team have made the decision that rather than keeping Tom for the rest of the tour he can get home, get some rest and recover back home.
"He's in good form, I was talking to him this morning. He's disappointed he's not staying and can't play because he's a competitor, but there's a longer-term view at play."
Sam Underhill is the leading contender among the three options to replace Curry at openside with Lewis Ludlam and Jack Willis also being considered.
"Sam was one of the outstanding players at the 2019 World Cup," Seibold said.
"He missed out on selection for the first Test but he's competed really strongly to put him in the frame for the second one.
"Lewis Ludlam came on and competed really strongly when Tom came off with the HIA.
"He's been a great leader for Northampton this year and when he comes into camp you can certainly tell why he's the captain of his club. He's got some great leadership quality and he competes really hard.
"Jack Willis from Wasps is really good over the ball. He competes really strongly defensively."
With Jonny May potentially out of the second Test, Sky Sports' Will Greenwood believes that Arundell's display in the first Test should be enough for the London Irish player to start the second Test.
"He has been doing this for London Irish all year, he is only 19 and gets some great hands out the back," Greenwood said.
"Australia have switched off a bit, you have always got to understand that, they have the game won but it still needs scoring.
"On the back of that, with the way that England's backline didn't fire at the weekend, I suspect if Jonny May hadn't been unfit, Henry as an apprentice probably wouldn't have been involved in the 23.
"But life is about taking your chances, it is about kicking the door down when it is opened an inch.
"It has opened an inch and he has scored a wonder try.
"On the back of that you would expect Eddie to go to him this week, put him in the back three and say 'kid, no one else could score for 79 minutes, you were half decent, have a pop'."
England are in action for the second Test of the three-match series vs Australia in Brisbane on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Action from 10.15am (10.55am kick off).
