New Zealand-born Brad Shields declared that he feels "100 per cent confident in his English blood heritage," citing the "teaspoons on the wall and chip butties on a Sunday afternoon," in his grandparents' homes in Essex and Yorkshire as proof of his connection to the cause after being selected ahead of Chris Robshaw, for the series-shaping second test against South Africa in Bloemfontein.
The furore surrounding the fast-tracking of Shields, who has only spent 11 days with his new team-mates after arriving from Dunedin following a Super Rugby game for the Hurricanes, cut no ice with Eddie Jones who stated that he has been picked on merit for what he describes as a "World Cup semi-final dress rehearsal" against the Springboks who are 1-0 up in the three Test series.
"You win, you go forward, you lose, it is the end of the tournament, so this is great practice for us," said Jones, who had no compunction in dropping Robshaw for the first time, insisting, though, the "door has not closed on his career," and adding: "Chris was obviously disappointed but not overly surprised. He is a hard taskmaster on himself and he realises that he hasn't been in great form."
There was no such negativity surrounding Shields who has been monitored by Jones since last November when he signed to play for Wasps next season.
The 27-year-old, who is also covering lock even though he has never started a match in the second row for the Hurricanes, was given no guarantees beyond the need to continue to play well. Shields' swift elevation has surprised even him, although Jones argued that he would not have been picked in the first place if he had not had confidence in his ability to step up.
