Henry Arundell could be a "significant player" by the time of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, says England coach Eddie Jones, who compared him to the legendary Bryan Habana after his exploits in training.
The London Irish back is in line for his international debut after he was named on the bench for the tourists' first match of their three-game series against hosts Australia in Perth.
While Jones has rung the changes elsewhere across his squad – with Owen Farrell stripped of the captaincy and Courtney Lawes installed with the armband – he has nevertheless been impressed by the 19-year-old's skill.
Speaking ahead of Saturday's opener at Perth Stadium, the coach illustrated the teenager's exploits amid his squad's preparation – and suggested he could emulate South Africa winger Habana with a bright, fast future.
"Henry scored...how long is the field, 100 metres? He scored a 90-metre try at training on Wednesday. There were a few, I won't use the expletives, 'he's fast!' heard," Jones said.
"We had a number of coaches from different sports watching and they heard this comment.
"He scored a try not many other players in the world would have scored. It was like a try Bryan Habana used to score – one of those.
"He could be a very good player but he's got a long way to go. We feel like if he continues his development and we're able to give him some game time on this tour, by the World Cup he could be a significant player."
England will follow their game in Perth with successive clashes in Brisbane on July 9 and Sydney on July 16, with the visitors looking to extend their eight-match winning streak against Australia.
Jones is looking to reverse a slump in his side's form, ahead of next year's World Cup, where they are currently drawn alongside Japan, Argentina and Samoa in Pool D.
Australia remain on top in World Test Championship final despite missed chances
Australia overcame some sloppy catching and careless footwork to remain in full control on day three of the World Test Championship final against India.
England’s Ashes rivals were not at their ruthless best at the Oval, allowing three chances to go down in the morning session while captain Pat Cummins saw a wicket chalked off for over-stepping for the second time in the match.
But even that was not enough to chip away at their dominant position in the match, Cameron Green making amends for an earlier drop with a stunning take at gully as India were dismissed for 296.
David Warner fell cheaply as the Australians moved to 23 for one at tea in their second innings, leaving Rohit Sharma’s side 196 behind and facing a mountainous task.
Without a fine 89 from Ajinkya Rahane and a battling 51 from a battered and bruised Shardul Thakur, they would be even further adrift.
Australia enjoyed a dream start when Scott Boland scattered Srikar Bharat’s stumps with the second ball of the day, leaving India 317 behind with just four wickets in hand.
Remarkably, and despite a relentless attacking effort from the Baggy Green bowlers, that was the only wicket to fall before lunch.
Boland came close to striking again in the opening over, snaring a thick edge from Thakur which soared high towards Usman Khawaja in the cordon. It was a tough chance and one that squirmed free from the fielder’s fingertips.
Thakur needed plenty of steel to stick around, requiring lengthy treatment after being hit three times by Cummins in a single over – wearing blows on the forearm, wrist and glove.
Having softened him up, the seamer should have got his rewards when Thakur sprayed a chance to gully but this time Green’s handiwork let him down.
With Thakur in a state of almost permanent danger, Rahane gave the vocal Indian crowd something to cheer when he hooked Cummins over fine-leg for six to bring up his half-century.
He passed 5,000 Test runs soon after, the 13th Indian to do so, but he also required a stroke of fortune to reach the break.
On 72 he aimed a flowing drive at Cummins, sending a head-high catch to first slip. Wicketkeeper Alex Carey appeared to offer a minor distraction to Warner, but he will still be kicking himself after seeing the ball pop out and land safe.
A handful of boundaries took the partnership into three figures as India began to have some fun, while Australia’s annoyance only increased when Cummins saw his lbw against Thakur overturned by the no-ball call. It was a case of history repeating for Cummins, who had also lost a wicket to over-stepping on day two when Rahane was on 17.
Australia needed a pick-me-up and Green provided it in style at the start of the afternoon session, showing razor sharp reactions and athleticism to take a jaw-dropping catch that ended Rahane’s stay on 89. Cummins was the beneficiary and he made sure to cash in when he cleaned up Umesh Yadav for five.
Thakur reached 51 before being undone by Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc finished things up by bouncing out Mohammed Shami.
India’s fans, whipped up by Virat Kohli, created a hostile atmosphere at the change of innings and Warner lasted just eight balls before nicking off to Mohammed Siraj.
Marnus Labuschagne was woken from a nap on the balcony to dash out at number three, and became the latest batter to take a nasty-looking blow to the hand when Siraj got one to lift aggressively at him.
England to face Portugal in Milton Keynes ahead of Women’s World Cup
England will face Portugal on July 1 in their final home warm-up match before flying to Australia for the Women’s World Cup.
Sarina Wiegman’s side are due to leave for the tournament four days after the meeting with their fellow finalists in Milton Keynes, with the game to kick-off at 3:15pm and be broadcast live on ITV.
Their opening game of the competition, which is being hosted jointly by Australia and New Zealand, is against Haiti in Brisbane on 22 July, before the team fly to Sydney to face Denmark then finish the group stage against China in Adelaide.
Wiegman finalised her squad for the World Cup, which England are looking to win for the first time following their Euro 2022 triumph last summer, in May with Arsenal’s Beth Mead a notable absence through injury.
Portugal are competing for the first time in the World Cup and are building on their first major tournament appearances at the last two editions of the European Championships.
Canada will be England’s final warm-up opponents in a behind-closed-doors friendly on July 14.
“I am really pleased to have a competitive game for our last home fixture,” said Wiegman. “We had two big games in April against Brazil and Australia where we learned so much.
“This will be another challenging match against a team that have performed well and are going to their first World Cup.
“Portugal will also want to show they can be a threat to teams in Australia, and they have very technical players with good ability. For us, it will be important to come together again as a team after the end of the club season and feel the support of our fans.
“We will do our best to give them a good performance. It will only be three weeks until our opening World Cup game so it will be such an important moment in our preparation.”
The Football Association and Women’s Super League clubs had been in a dispute over the release date for players called up to the squad.
The FIFA-sanctioned date by which clubs must make players available is July 10, just 10 days before the tournament kicks off.
It was reported last week that the FA had planned for the squad to meet up on June 19, though a formal agreement between parties took time to reach.
That date has now been confirmed by the FA, which said in a statement: “We are grateful for the mutual understanding of the clubs, as we have collectively worked towards a solution with the wellbeing of players at the heart.”
England beat Portugal the last time the sides met competitively, Toni Duggan and Nikita Parris scoring the goals in a 2-1 win for the Lionesses in the Euro 2017 group stage.
Wicket off a no-ball and three dropped catches – Australia give India hope
Careless footwork and sloppy catching halted Australia’s progress as India fought back on the third morning of the World Test Championship final at the Oval.
Australia enjoyed a dream start when Scott Boland scattered Srikar Bharat’s stumps with the second ball of the day, leaving India 317 behind with just four wickets in hand, but despite creating plenty of chances that was the only breakthrough of the session.
Usman Khawaja, Cameron Green and David Warner all put down chances to allow a century stand between Ajinkya Rahane (89no) and Shardul Thakur (36no) to shore up India on 260 for six at lunch, a deficit of 209.
Captain Pat Cummins also erred, denied a possible wicket for the second time in the innings due to a front-foot no-ball. He had Rahane lbw for 17 on day two, only for replays to show he had overstepped, and he saw history repeating itself just before the break when he had Thakur given out after being struck on the knee-roll.
Umpire Richard Kettleborough immediately raised his finger, much to Australia’s relief, but a DRS review showed Cummins had once again failed to get anything behind the line.
Boland, pushing hard to retain his place for next week’s Ashes opener at Edgbaston, started superbly as he ripped his second delivery through a small gap between Bharat’s bat and pad and straight into middle.
Had Thakur’s thick edge been held by Khawaja in the cordon four balls later, India may well have struggled to come back from it. Instead the ball squirmed out of his fingertips and the battle continued.
Thakur needed plenty of bravery to stick around, requiring lengthy treatment after being hit three times by Cummins in a single over – wearing blows on the forearm, wrist and glove.
Having softened him up, the seamer should have got his rewards when Thakur sprayed a chance to gully but this time Green’s handiwork let him down.
With Thakur in a state of almost permanent danger, Rahane gave the vocal Indian crowd something to cheer when he hooked Cummins over fine-leg for six to bring up his half-century.
He passed 5,000 Test runs soon after, the 13th Indian to do so, but he also required a stroke of fortune to reach the break.
On 72 he aimed a flowing drive at Cummins, sending a head-high catch to first slip. Wicketkeeper Alex Carey appeared to offer a minor distraction to Warner, but he will still be kicking himself after seeing the ball pop out and land safe.
A handful of boundaries took the partnership into three figures as India began to have some fun, while Australia’s annoyance only increased when Cummins saw his lbw against Thakur overturned by the no-ball call.
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