Friday saw the announcement of Eddie Jones’ 45-man EPS squad and his 37-man training squad that will head to Brighton to start preparing for their forthcoming test against South Africa. Before we delve into the detail let’s be clear on the difference between the two. The 45 in his England EPS squad are the players that Eddie can select from and is an agreement between England Rugby and PRL (Premiership Rugby limited). Then, the 37 are his immediate focus and are the ones that will be heading for a three day camp following the denouement of Round 5.
Since the moment that Eddie Jones took the role as England’s head coach we knew that he was always going to do it his way. His viewpoints are strong ones and the thoughts that constitute ‘popular opinion’ mean little to him. They are white noise and he politely straight bats them back to anyone that tries to push him towards them. If you can put your hand on your heart and say that you foresaw Sam Jones Ben Morgan and Joe Marchant being included in his training squad for South Africa then you must have Eddie’s confidence because not all are obvious choices.
Three days doesn’t sound like a lot of contact time with the 37-man training squad yet Eddie Jones is 100% confident that during that time he’ll be able to find out which of the news faces have what it takes to make that successful leap to test level. On Tuesday in Brighton he will "test their resolve and their ability to see how they operate when they’re uncomfortable" and that is a subtle way of saying he’ll push them to beyond breaking point, replicating test intensity, and see how they cope.
England’s back row has been an area of key focus for longer than Justin Beiber has been deemed to be acceptable and on announcing these squads England’s head coach provided a little more clarity regarding how he sees the blend and make up of it right now;
“The composition of the team at the moment, and I stress at the moment, is that we've got a big ball-running eight, Billy Vunipola and Nathan Hughes in that area.
“Then we've got a six who's a high work-rate player like Chris Robshaw, who was excellent last Saturday against Saracens, with a number of people behind Chris. Then at seven we're looking for a destructive defensive player, not your traditional seven player, because at the moment we don't have that in England.
“We went down the route of trying to find that but it wasn't successful, so we're looking for a more of a destructive player like a Haskell. So Sam Jones and Mike Williams also come into that category.”
The other area that sparked a lot of discussion yesterday, and not for the first time, was the exclusion of Danny Cipriani. Arguably the fly-half hasn’t fully flown yet for Wasps but many believed that he would have his name in the 45-man EPS squad and therefore be an option for selection. Yet Cipriani remains firmly out of the picture and on this subject Eddie Jones said that "O2 got a good workout on their network yesterday”. The Australian did provide some level of clarity regarding his decision;
“It was a difficult conversation. Danny knows what he’s got to do. I said it quite clearly to him; at the moment he’s not one or two for England in terms of stand-offs. We see George Ford and Owen Farrell – 23 and 24 year-olds – as one and two. For Cipriani to get in the squad, he’s got to be able to show he can be No1. I don’t see him as a player who comes into the squad as a three or four player. He likes to be the main man.”
We’ve always said that selection is subjective so whether you agree or not with Eddie Jones’ viewpoint that the Wasps fly-half has to be the "main man" that’s how it is. It seems to be an viewpoint that isn't likely to shift anytime soon therefore the only way for Cipriani to get himself back into an England jersey is to outplay both George Ford and Owen Farrell, a difficult feat.
With nine victories from nine outings Eddie Jones’ start to his England role has been a dream but with injuries aplenty the coming weeks will be a greater test of his coaching and selection ability. If Owen Farrell isn't able to recover in time then he has to make the right call in the midfield because it's the heartbeat of the back line and a pivotal in terms of defensive structure. England cannot afford to have a repeat of what happened in the opening thirty minutes of the first Test in Australia, he has to get selection right from the word go against South Africa. Elsewhere the choice in England’s back row is just as critical, this was the area that provided the impetus and power for England to thrive Down Under and against a South African side that will be tremendously motivated and experienced in that area the call is vital.
Now Eddie Jones and his team have to make clear decisions on players following limited contact time with them in Brighton and after that he will announce final squad for the Old Mutual Wealth Series (autumn internationals in old money) on October 26. Jones' viewpoint is these coming weeks are months are that they’re "not a test but an opportunity". Of course he is right and ultimately England Rugby will be better for developing other players now. However it’s safe to say that a spot of luck injury wise over the coming weeks would help the Australian a sleep a little better at night because they cannot afford to gain any new ones and the recovery of Dylan Hartley and Owen Farrell in particular would be a huge bonus.
