You can't just pick 15 ballers - an analysis of England's First Test 23

If there’s one thing you can say beyond all certainty with Eddie Jones, it is that he will always give you something to write about and his selection for the opening Test with the Springboks has delivered emphatically in that regard.

Mike Brown on the wing, just two second-rows in the matchday 23 and a spot on the bench for much-talked about back-rower Brad Shields were among the highlights from the team announcement earlier today.

Here it is…

Your England team to face the @Springboks on Saturday in Johannesburg ?

More here ? https://t.co/wDhY2cInJx #RSAvENG #CarryThemHome pic.twitter.com/6bFkpYMKFm

— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) June 7, 2018

The selection is a medley of dice rolls, consistent calls and potentially a couple of head-scratchers, but it does give us some insight into what Jones is trying to achieve in South Africa – other than three wins, of course – and how he sees his side shaping up as they head into a Rugby World Cup year.

It may go unnoticed among the larger talking points in that squad, but Ben Spencer getting the nod over Dan Robson on the bench seems telling.

England’s scrum-half position struggled in the absence of Ben Youngs during the Six Nations and though Jones seems very happy with the combination of Youngs starting and Care offering impact from the bench, there is a feeling he would prefer a differing option at nine should Youngs go down again, rather than promoting Care to the XV.

Robson has been the more eye-catching player in the Premiership but given the abilities of Youngs, particularly his box-kicking and the chance for the English chase to compete for the ball, Spencer is an understandable call. He has been well-drilled at Saracens in that area and there are few mentors better in that regard than Richard Wigglesworth.

This series is an opportunity for Jones to really run the rule over one of Youngs’ deputies and work out if they have what it takes to fill any Youngs-shaped voids next year. Spencer will get first crack at it.

Two more calls that are interesting-but-perhaps-not-that-interesting are the selections of Nick Isiekwe and Tom Curry in the XV.

Isiekwe steps in for Joe Launchbury, who is nursing a calf injury, and Curry takes the openside spot, a position that he would likely have filled during the Six Nations if he had not dislocated his wrist. Jones is happy to trust two younger players – both of whom could be playing with the U20s in France right now – in key positions.

Isiekwe is coming off an extremely impressive season with Saracens and will be a primary target at the lineout alongside teammate Maro Itoje and Curry is entrusted to solve England’s long-standing problem position in the back-row. If they play to their ability – and there’s no reason to doubt they will – it will be a tough challenge for the former incumbents to win the spots back.

The next discussion point is the absence of Danny Cipriani from the 23.

It’s a nice focal point for social media outrage but, with your hand on your heart, did you honestly expect him the be in the 23 for the first Test? The reason his inclusion in the squad had such a big deal made about it last month was because of how surprising it was.

Not surprising because Cipriani isn’t good enough, but because he is not one of Jones’ favoured group of players. He can do things with a rugby ball that neither George Ford nor Owen Farrell can, he lights up the Premiership on a weekly basis and yet, for one reason or another, he has not been in Jones’ good graces since the Australian took over as England head coach.

Just because he finally managed to break his way back into the touring squad – and he should be praised extensively for the work rate and determination that has seen him do that – doesn’t mean he was going to go straight into the 23, especially with Ford and Farrell both fit.

His time may yet come in the second or third Tests and the outcome of the game in Johannesburg on Saturday could prompt Jones to hasten that reintegration process. If England are soundly beaten, he could be entrusted to provide a spark, or if England wrap up the series in two, he could well feature in the final outing in Cape Town.

If we are looking for a surprising omission from the 23, however, we need look no further than Alex Lozowski.

Alex Lozowski

Unlike Cipriani, Lozowski has been one of Jones’ favoured group over the last couple of seasons. He may not have featured in too many 23s due to presence of Ford, Farrell and Jonathan Joseph, but he has been a stalwart in the larger training squads and is clearly a player that Jones thinks a lot of.

After his exceptional display in the Premiership final, going directly up against Henry Slade, it felt to many as if he had the upper hand in the battle for the 13 jersey, but Jones opted for Slade in the first Test instead. On the one hand it’s frustrating for Lozowski, but on the other, it’s the opportunity Slade has been waiting for.

Having been moved about from 13 to 10 and back to 13 over the last few years and having had his England opportunities come in fits and bursts, often from the bench, this is his chance to prove he can complement Farrell, which is the first duty of any England 13 at present.

Can we also just take a moment to appreciate the number of quality kicking options in that England back line?

Ford, Farrell, Slade, Brown and Elliot Daly are all adept kickers of a rugby ball and South Africa have picked two wings on debut, either side of Willie le Roux, who hasn’t played for the Springboks since November 2016. Tactical kicking fireworks predicted.

There are some other minor calls of interest such as Kyle Sinckler getting the nod over Harry Williams and the chance to show he can provide go-forward for 60 minutes, rather than 20, as well as an apparent confidence in Shields to cover the second-row if injury strikes, but it would be remiss not to delve further into Brown’s selection on the wing.

If you want your lightning rod for OUTRAGE™, then here it is. At full-back he is a hate him or love him type character for England rugby fans, but on the wing, it seems to lean almost exclusively towards the former.

On one hand, the anger makes sense.

He doesn’t have the top-end speed of many international wings, something which has been publicly attributed to the likes of Jack Nowell and Hallam Amos, too, with their futures at full-back or outside centre talked up instead. For many, he’s an acceptable call at full-back, but not on the wing, especially with the likes of Denny Solomona and Nathan Earle fit and in-form.

On the other hand, however, he’s an experienced operator who is as good at dealing with balls in the air as anyone in English rugby. He’s an above average one-on-one tackler and if Daly goes looking for work, engages in the kicking game or generally drifts out of position to bring his attacking skills to the fore, Brown is going to be responsible in what could well be a semi-pendulous defence.

Some of the criticisms are justified but you can’t just pick 15 ballers in a team. It doesn’t work that way.

If Anthony Watson were fit, this might not be a debate we needed to have, but Solomona and Earle will both know that there are defensive areas of their games they need to work on before they can cement a spot in the side.

For what it’s worth, the squad doesn’t sit too badly with this writer.

No specialist lock cover feels a big gamble. Playing at altitude and against a Springbok side that will always look to test the physical limits of their opponents, it is a sin beyond forgiveness, but other than that, it all feels rather reasonable for a first outing on tour.

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If the wheels do come off in the first Test, Jones has another 160 minutes of rugby to include the likes of Cipriani, Lozowski, Ellis Genge, Ben Earl and Jason Woodward and attempt to salvage some positives from the series. If the wheels don’t come off, however, history beckons.

England haven’t become a bad team overnight (or over a few months), they welcome back a marauding Billy Vunipola to the squad and the goal of winning their first ever series in South Africa is a distinct possibility.

It would seem rash to pillory this selection and call for more change and more experimentation when this is the scenario England find themselves in.