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I think the Ford-Farrell combination is perfect when you are going to be on the front foot against 'lesser' teams. Ford plays very flat and aggressively bringing the ball to the line and it creates space outside him, which he's very good at exploiting. BUT, in his England career he has tended to go missing/have poor games against the very best teams. This is quite possibly because in the toughest games the pack don't have dominance and he doesn't have that same service/time to play with. But there seems to be a feeling (and this may well be hugely unfair) that he doesn't quite have the bottle (or his game doesn't fit) for the biggest and toughest occasion. We know Farrell thrives in these situations. His defence, as you note, is an advantage for sure. I think Ford is also an excellent bench option if you're chasing a game with 20 to go! Also, it should be said, bringing in Slade for Ford is hardly bringing in Brad Barritt or Shontayne Hape - this midfield has everything, gas, kicking, distributing and massive physical impact. Plus excellent defence. JJ can probably consider himself unlucky and I am slightly concerned about Slade's fitness, but the coaches will have seen enough in camp to know whether he's OK or not... and he will be great from the bench whether chasing or protecting because his wider channel defence is exceptional.
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That makes sense regarding Ford. I quite like Slade though, and as you said the combination Farell-Tuilagi-Slade is very complete and if they are in line with each other, they will be very hard to either attack or defend against.
But if Hooper and Pocock play their best game, this will be needed. I was quite surprised by Australia's hooker, did not knew him and find him to be good during pool stage.
Both teams have interesting line-ups, and also interesting bench choices so very much looking forward to the game!!
paulbiche
Did not follow carefully the pool games of England, but was under the impression that Ford was installed on 10, and Farell on 12 ; now Farell is back on 10 and Slade on 13. Did Slade play during pool stage?
I think Slade is a very good option but isn't it risky to move Farell constantly between 10 and 12 despite his competence, and mostly to install Slade if he hasn't play much? If they 10-12-13 association are on the same page, England's lineup is pretty scary I must say because the pack seem already very strong and backline combine kicking, high impact, and good speed overall.
Maybe Jones is scared for Ford's defence if he's got to defend against Kerevi, Koroibete etc. or if he's under pressure with Hooper and Pocock? Australia is pretty unpredictable so it will be interesting.