Does adventurous England selection promise fireworks?
England head coach Eddie Jones announced his squad to play Italy earlier today and it has thrown up some surprising names.
Gloucester scrum-half Ben Vellacott had been tipped all week prior to the announcement to make the squad, but he was one of several notable absentees, as England continue with their tried and tested combination of Ben Youngs and Danny Care at scrum-half.
Plenty of other uncapped players did make the cut, however, with Nathan Earle, Harry Mallinder and Marcus Smith (apprentice) included among the backs, whilst Lewis Boyce, Tom Dunn, Alec Hepburn, Gary Graham and Zach Mercer are all players Jones can call upon in the pack.
It is noticeable that Mercer has lost his status as an apprentice, with Jones commenting that the Bath back-rower is a selection consideration for the Italy game.
“Zach Mercer has a chance of being selected, especially with the absence of Nathan and Billy. He comes into contention at the No 8 role and we’ve been really impressed with how hard he’s worked at Bath off and on the field in terms of his defence. He is a naturally gifted player in terms of attack and is exciting to watch.”
It remains to be seen how adventurous Jones will be with his line-up when England travel to Rome on February 4th but with so many uncapped players included in a squad that has been specifically designated as for the game with Italy, rather than the Six Nations as a whole, it bodes well for them that they could see playing time next month.
Starting up front, one of Boyce or Hepburn will be in line to win their first cap from the bench, with Mako Vunipola the only other loosehead in the squad. Were it not for injuries and the rise of Ellis Genge, Hepburn would likely already have a cap, so he will be favourite heading into the Portugal training camp, but Jones has talked up Boyce.
“Lewis Boyce is a good young, strong prop and he has his opportunity because of injuries to Ellis Genge, Matt Mullan and so he has a chance. He is a good chop tackler, a tough boy and player of the future.”
Both players will be keen to make the most of this opportunity, with Joe Marler likely to return to the squad after his ban is completed at the conclusion the opening round.
As for Dunn, his path to a cap is no easier than it was before, with both Dylan Hartley and Jamie George included in the squad, whilst Gary Graham, a surprise call-up to the training camp earlier this month, will have to see off competition from Mercer, Chris Robshaw, Sam Underhill and Sam Simmonds, as well as versatile locks Maro Itoje and Courtney Lawes, to see action in the back-row.
In the back line, both Earle and Mallinder will be looking to make an impression, but as with many of the uncapped forwards, the incumbents, who have been consistent over the last two years, are also included.
Mike Brown is still the favourite to start at full-back and Anthony Watson and Jonny May would look to be front-runners for spots on the wing. If the last two years have taught us anything about Jones, it’s that he is not going to make knee-jerk reactions to form and would rather build a team based on traits, ability and what players can bring to England over the long-term, rather than what they might be able to do in the short-term or what they have done at club level.
There is a good chance that, excluding one of the two looseheads, seven of these eight uncapped players will remain uncapped after the Italy game.
Maybe Mercer will edge his way in with both Billy Vunipola and Nathan Hughes out, but don’t expect fireworks in terms of the team selection, especially after Italy gave England all that they could handle in the first half of their encounter at Twickenham last year.
What this selection does do, however, is give Jones an in-depth look at these eight players during the squad’s pre-tournament training camp in Portugal.
The Australian is a big advocate of bringing players into the national team environment, getting a look at them, giving them a taste of what it is to be a Test player and then leaving them with feedback on what it is they need to do to feature regularly.
This feels particularly apt for Boyce and Mallinder, the former of whom will be in this environment for the first time, with both players having undisputed potential, but needing to round off rough edges if they want to make that step up to the next level.
Jones has done this previously with a number of players and it is showing no signs of slowing down, especially after he signed an extension to continue coaching England until 2021.
Amongst the veterans of the squad, there is plenty to play for in Portugal, too.
Kyle Sinckler going up against Harry Williams for the right to deputise for Dan Cole will be compelling, as will the free-for-all in the second row between Itoje, Lawes, George Kruis, Joe Launchbury and Nick Isiekwe.
Have Henry Slade or Alex Lozowski done enough to oust Jonathan Joseph in England’s midfield? Or will Ben Te’o be preferred, for the physical thrust he provides? Then there is the listing of Jack Nowell as an “inside back” in the official squad release.
There will certainly be plenty of debate over the coming weeks and though Jones isn’t prone to radical change, this is shaping to be one of the more interesting team selections of his tenure as England head coach.
The Azzurri surprised England last season with an ingenious tactical approach to the game at Twickenham, maybe it’s England’s turn to repay the favour at the Stadio Olimpico with a few selection surprises of their own.
Comments on RugbyPass
Ben Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
19 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
7 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
19 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
26 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
19 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
26 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
19 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
86 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
3 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
9 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
19 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
14 Go to comments