“We have focused particularly on youth because we want to find players who are going to be better than the 16 players who are going on the Lions tour. We have looked at trying to discover the best young talent in England and see how we can bring them through. To win the World Cup, we need to have the best talent; that is our ultimate destiny.”
Those were the words of Eddie Jones as he announced his squad to take to Argentina for a two-Test series. Just like yesterday’s Lions announcement he turned heads with his selection decisions because while we all knew that some younger players would be included on this tour, it’s fair to say that none of us foresaw the number being quite so high.
Eddie Jones’ focus on youth has meant that a number of ‘more established’ players are not in the picture and that has sparked plenty of comment on social media. Of course the Australian won’t give two hoots about that and the fact of the matter is that he knows what those left out can do already and he wants to dive even further into England’s talent pool.
“What I am always looking to do is improve the squad and I feel that these young guys can take our squad to another level. There is no reason why those other players can’t come back into it, but like any player that’s not in the squad, there’s work to do on their game and they’ve got to be desperate to improve it.”
With his comments about finding players that are better than those that have gone on the Lions tour, and by excluding some of the Premiership's more experienced individuals, England's head coach is again keeping them all feeling uncomfortable. We’ve heard him say on so many occasions how he wants his players to never get comfortable because they deliver more when they are on edge and here is another prime example of that.
For the 16 uncapped players contact time, and touring, as part of Eddie Jones’ senior squad must be a daunting prospect. Today was Nick Isiekwe’s 19th birthday, he was born in 1998 - yes I feel very old writing that - and yet in a short time he, and others, will find themselves under the intense scrutiny of England's coaching staff. The step from training and playing at Premiership level to International level is a big one and it will be sink or swim time for them. In that regard the message from their head coach is clear, don’t go into yourselves instead come into my set-up and thrive:
When I asked further about his expectations for the squad as soon as they come together to prepare for the Barbarians he focused on the mental side of things and these individuals' psychology:
"It’s not good enough to be picked for England, the only thing that’s good enough when you get picked for England is to win. These players have got to develop, if they haven’t got the winning mentality for England then they need to develop a mentality for England, and our aim to go on tour is to win 2-0.”
While Argentina will be looking to take a big scalp in June I'm of the opinion that that this England squad does have the ability to go over there and deliver the series victory that their head coach demands of them. Yes the balance is tipped in the favour of youth however with that often comes a fearless mindset as player embrace the opportunity ahead of them and don't think too much about it. Dylan Hartley's leadership will be vital as will the actions of the senior players in the squad, the tour will develop their leadership capabilties too and look to bridge the leadership deficit that Eddie Jones often talks of. Within England's four year cycle the upcoming tour represents a unique opportunity to play this hand for the benefit of the squad in the longer term. While I fully expect that the criticism of Eddie Jones' decision to leave out certain individuals like Christian Wade to continue run at the end of the day the decision has been made and he really does know what he's doing!
Personally I'm tremendously excited to see what this squad can do at Twickenham before their Tests overseas and I think that it's quite a bold, and exciting move. To finish this opening comment piece - more from today's announcement will follow - I'll leave you with Eddie Jones' definition of ultimate success from this summer's tour:
“If I can develop three or four of these guys better than the Lions guys it will be an enormously successful tour, that’s what we are looking for.”
England Squad for the Barbarians and Argentina
Forwards: Will Collier, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ben Curry, Tom Curry, Charlie Ewels, Ellis Genge, Dylan Hartley, James Haskell, Paul Hill, Nathan Hughes, Nick Isiekwe, Joe Launchbury, Matt Mullan, Chris Robshaw, Sam Underhill, Harry Williams, Tom Wood
Backs: Mike Brown (vice-captain), Danny Care (vice captain), Joe Cokanasiga, Nathan Earle, George Ford (vice captain), Piers Francis, Sam James, Alex Lozowski, Harry Mallinder, Joe Marchant, Jack Maunder, Jonny May, Henry Slade, Denny Solomona
