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England Squad Update: 23 retained for Scotland match

Eddie Jones has released 10 players, retaining 23 players at Pennyhill Park.

hartley

Eddie Jones has made the first cull to his Six Nations squad after just two days in camp, and the RFU issued the below press release.

The following 23 players have been retained by England for the rest of the first training week of the RBS 6 Nations:

Forwards (13)
Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)
Jack Clifford (Harlequins)
Jamie George (Saracens)
Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints)
James Haskell (Wasps)
Paul Hill (Northampton Saints)
George Kruis (Saracens)
Joe Launchbury (Wasps)
Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints)
Joe Marler (Harlequins)
Chris Robshaw (Harlequins)
Billy Vunipola (Saracens)
Mako Vunipola (Saracens)

Backs (10)
Mike Brown (Harlequins)
Danny Care (Harlequins)
Ollie Devoto (Bath Rugby)
Owen Farrell (Saracens)
George Ford (Bath Rugby)
Alex Goode (Saracens)
Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby)
Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs)
Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby)
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)

The players released therefore are:
Josh Beaumont, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Maro Itoje, Matt Kvesic, Matt Mullan, Henry Thomas, Semesa Rokoduguni, Eliot Daly, Sam Hill and Marland Yarde .

What are your thoughts on the clues for Eddie Jones’ first team selection next week?

45 replies on “England Squad Update: 23 retained for Scotland match”

Really quite disappointed with the final 23. Haskell at 7? Alex Goode with his customary bench slot. Not sure quite what Daly has to do to get a game…surely he’d be a better option from the bench at the very least.

Cannot believe Daly isn’t in the squad, deserves to start at 13 ahead of Joseph for sure and most definitely should be on the bench ahead of Goode as he is a more versatile option.

I’d have Itoje ahead of Lawes and Kvesic starting at 7 but I can understand EJ wanting to keep them in for experience for the opening match, I feel we’ll see a few changes for the Italy match.

I think Daly will be played against Italy. I have no major issues with this list. I would have retained daily and lovesick for 7 but if Haskell has indeed been working on his breakdown skills I don’t see an issue. This could be a fine team. Daly will come. Devoting will take over 12 and Daly 13 for Italy. Am I the only one who feels England do not play enough. How about a few England v domestic. Uncapped of course but some more training.

Is this just not weekend release for Aviva Premiership action? I.e. these players will be back in camp for squad selection next week for the Scotland game? If it was released back to their clubs in a test week I’d assume otherwise, but seeing as we’re still 2 weeks out from Scotland isn’t this just Jones taking the opportunity to give his new caps some more game time before their first test that the experienced heads that might not need it?

That was my thinking about weekend games. Surely they will be back with the squad next week?

Maybe he wants to see more of these players in a match situation? Most of the players retained have a fair amount of experience at international level, and Jones knows what they are capable of.

I would be very disappointed not to see Itoje and Daly in ahead of Lawes and JJ on current form. He’d obviously already decided he wanted Clifford and Paul Hill in the squad regardless, and then it was a straight toss up between Devoto and Sam Hill?

According to the England Rugby article, yes, they will be rejoining the squad on Sunday evening, but would have thought that given these 23 will have had an extra five days working on drills/moves etc with EJ and team that there won’t be too many changes from this to the final match day 23, it would presumably take some exceptional performances to force the way back in again?

1)Mako 2)hartley 3)coles 4)lLaunchbury 5)Lawes 6)Robshaw 7) Clifford (this one is a bit of a gamble) 8) Vunipola 9)Youngs 10)Ford 11)Nowell 12)Devoto OR Farrell (given devotos versatility he could well be in the bench) 13) JJ 14) Watson 15) Brown

What do u think

Am I really the only one desperate for Farrell not to play at 12? Or possibly don’t give him the 10 shirt, he may be the form fly half at the moment, but put Ford, Cipriani, or Andy Goode behind the current Saracens pack and they will all look great. Farrel does not have that real attacking instinct, bloody good goal kicker though which will probably sway it.

Agree that he shouldn’t play 12 as I don’t think the chemistry will work, but Farrell is incredible at 10. I’m a huge Ford fan, and last year I was aggressively championing his selection, but he isn’t in the greatest vein of form this season, and he can be a defensive liability. What Farrell brings is an undeniable skill-set and great physicality. Remarks about his playing behind a dominant pack are unfair. He is consistently superb and a proven international: he should be starting at FH.

Farrell would rather play 10, but Jones knows that the Ford/Farrell axis worked at age level, and I suspect he will want to try it out. As long as he gets Farrell to take over the kicking duties!!

It worked at age level but Farrell really Isn’t a 12, for all of his positive attributes his running ball in hand game is not strong enough. I think you pick Ford or Farrell depending on the desired style of play and bring the other of the bench

That is the one area Farrell has really improved on, and has been running through holes and throwing excellent dummies this season. His support play has also improved a lot, and although he’s a better 10, could still do a job at 12.

I think that this squad shows Eddie Jones sensible side. He is keen on the new blood but doesn’t want to rush a whole boat load of new caps in a hostile atmosphere up at Murrayfield against a dangerous Scottish side.

He will probably bring Itoje, Daly and possibly Beaumont into the equation come the Italy game so fair play.

Farrell at 12 is a stop gap until Slade is fit again and the Joseph/Daly debate will be insignificant when Tuilagi is fit again as I think he is pencilled in for the other centre berth alongside Slade.

Once everyone is fit, and the new caps have been drip fed in, then I think we will see a first choice match day squad something like the below:

1. M. Vunipola
2. D. Hartley
3. D. Cole
4. J. Launchbury
5. M. Itoje
6. D. Ewers
7. J. Clifford
8. B. Vunipola

9. B. Youngs
10. O. Farrell / G. Ford
11. J. Nowell
12. H. Slade
13. M. Tuilagi
14. A. Watson
15. M. Brown

16. J. George
17. J. Marler
18. K. Brookes
19. G. Kruis / C. Lawes
20. J. Beaumont
21. D. Care
22. O. Farrell / G. Ford
23. J. Joseph / E. Daly

Jones sees Tuilagi as a 12 so it will be Daly/Joseph in the 13 shirt and he has already stated that Robshaw is hands down the best 6 in the prem. Also you can ink Farrell in at 10 fords form is pants right now but otherwise I agree that this is his target team

Didn’t think Nowell was fit? No Daly or Itoje is odd and I’d love to know what it is coaches see in Goode. I just don’t get it.

I think Eddie wants to win this at all costs and is going to concentrate on defence. Maybe he saw something in his World cup match that he can exploit.

Still with Devoto, Hill and Clifford you can hardly say he is being totally conservative, though I imagine Devoto will only be used if Farrell or Ford get injured.

I will give EJ a chance though and hope to see see some evolution throughout the 6n. However the irony of a backrow of Robshaw, Haskell and Vunipola is not lost me!

Nowells ‘injury’ was relatively slight there has never been any serious doubt he wouldn’t be fit for the Scotland game.

This is ok for the first game away. The experienced players know each other and they only have a short time together before the Scotland game.
The big difference from the last regime will hopefully be seen through the tournament – by bringing in the new players and giving them a go, rather than new players only getting a chance when the incumbent is injured.

Agreed Benjit. At international level Goode doesn’t cut it for me (not enough pace for one)
Amazed at absence of Itoje and Daly. JJ is out of form so I’d have gone with Daly.

Think there is nice balance to this squad. Daly is the form player in the league at the moment in my opinion, so I was really shocked to see him miss out.

That being said, he probably doesn’t want to have a Devoto/Daly uncapped midfield at a strong Scottish side at Murrayfiield.

Looks as though he really isn’t a Kvesic fan and may be looking to mold Clifford into a 7.

Goode is a strange on – but I guess again experience gets him in. I’ll judge him more on squad selection by the end of the 6 nations. I’m hoping that we’d have seen Daly/Itoje capped by then.

This squad makes sense to me. Yes I was as surprised as everyone to see Itoje and Daly released but it does make sense not to blood too many caps away to Scotland. Lancaster did that and we would have lost were it not for a charge down try by Hodgson. It is not a fun place to make your debut at the start of February! Also at least Ford/Farrell/Joseph have had a bit of game time together – often think we underestimate the importance of familiarity in combinations. Takes time to get used to playing with each other.

The guys are in the squad. Their time will come. I expect to see Itoje feature at some point in the 6N. Coming in for Lawes for Italy maybe. Daly is a tricky one – on paper he is perfect for the 23 shirt if he is not starting at 13, but with Manu coming back for the final couple of games I would imagine he gets the 23 shirt then. Will he swap Daly in for maybe two bench appearances?

Very disappointed about both Daly and Itoje as I expected to see them both selected so that they can be blooded from the bench. Hopefully after the weekend we will see them swapped in for Goode and Lawes but I suspect that the fact that he has retained exactly 23 suggests this is his matchday squad.

Everyone seems to be assuming Farrell will start at 12 but I expect to see him in the 10 shirt with Devoto and Joseph outside him

Kvesic is the best out and out 7 in the prem currently but I agree with Eddie that he lacks some basic skills/nous and isn’t a great long term option however I would still have selected him for this 6 nations while other options were pursued

If this is the 23 for the Scotland game I would go with:
1. M. Vunipola, 2. Hartley, 3. Cole, 4. Launchbury, 5. Kruis, 6. Robshaw, 7. Clifford, B. Vunipola, 9. Youngs, 10. Farrell, 11. Nowell, 12. Devoto, 13. JJ, 14. Watson, 15. Brown
16. George,17 Marler, 18. Hill, 19. Lawes, 20. Haskell, 21. Care, 22. Ford, 23. Goode

Bang on in my book but I am concerned about the reports of Haskell being trained as a 7 (how much can he learn in 2 weeks) seeing Clifford relegated to the bench and i’m still (Vaguely) hopefully that Eddie will see the light on Itoje and Daly and put them on the bench

I guess there is a slim chance that this 23 represents those members of the squad in line to start at Murrayfield. Perhaps bench spots are still up for grabs for those returning from club duty at the weekend. As someone has pointed out elsewhere, Daly’s long range goal kicking would be handy from the bench in a tight game on a rainy day…

Only change I’d make would be Lawes over Kruis. Kruis is definitely in better form, but from a combination point of view I think Launchbury/Lawes is a better fit. Not sure Kruis does much line out calling, but I know Launchbury doesn’t.

Also think Haskell is a good option at 7 in the short term. He played there for years at Wasps, and the Highlanders considered him a 7 when he was in NZ. It’s Smiths arrival at Wasps that has been him shift to 6 for us.

I can see the benefit of a club unit re the lineout, but I do worry about a lack of pace in the backrow, which Clifford would solve. Plus it would be another club combination with Robshaw.

Benjit/Dazza who calls the lineout for Sarries? I thought it was Kruis but I may be wrong.
Yes i worry about the pace of the backrow (something Eddie was keen on uping) if Haskell is picked at 7

Kruis calls the lineout for Sarries, and has a great understanding with George. Does Lawes call lineouts for Saints? If not, then I would definitely have Kruis starting. If Lawes does call them, maybe start with him and swap him and Hartley for Kruis and George at the same time?

The pace of the back row would be (in my view) be upped with Clifford playing. Robshaw is not a running 6 like Beaumont or Ewers would be, but with Clifford playing, I don’t think it would be a problem. Haskell is a good bench man who could cover the whole back row if needs be (not all at the same time of course!!;-)).

Ah my mistake. Always looked as though Itoje was the much better line out man than Kruis in the Sarries games I’ve seen which normally suggests he is the caller.

Lawes does call the Saints line outs – or certainly did last year for Saints and England.

I personally hate the idea of picking based on club mates. Pick the best players for England, they need to learn at some point to play together. So if Kruis is a good line out caller then him and Hartley will need to work it out.

“I personally hate the idea of picking based on club mates. Pick the best players for England”

In principle I agree Jacob, but with such little preparation time, I think it a pragmatic choice, as Gatland did with his first squad (somewhat more drastically).

There has been a lot of disquiet from English fans about how similar this squad is to what Lancaster picked. My reading on this selection is that Eddie is looking at evolution not revolution, correctly recognizing that the majority of this squad have beaten Scotland home and away, whilst strengthening some of the more egregious failings of the world cup – Hartley, Launchbury and Haskell above Youngs, Parling and Wood, certainly should improve the set piece, and Farrell, despite his limitations is an improvement on Barritt.

Get a winning start and I expect EJ will be more free to select on merit, regardless of club combination and international experience.

I think for the most part though, most of the squad have been playing together for England for a long time. As you say, the squad is not that dissimilar to that picked in the past by Lancaster.

Other than strengthening the set piece and picking a decent centre pairing there wasn’t massive amounts to fix. A fetcher is the other issue but we just don’t have one good enough to select.

On combinations, as I say, most of these guys have played together before so I don’t think it should really have a say in selection. Would still pick Launchbury and Lawes though, so I would end up with a Saints line out.

This squad looks pretty useful to me. Lets be honest prior to the World Cup the England team actually looked pretty good. It was only Lancaster’s complete meltdown during the WC that cost him his job and had us tumbling down the world rankings..
IMO there were 4 big issues from the world cup that if solved should bring us back to looking like 6n contenders, these were:

The scrum – this went wrong imo because Hartley was missing (not dwelling on reasons) Lancaster picked the next in line hooker and less bulky Youngs, who has had difficulty in the lineout in the past. So he felt he had to pick a more lineout bias and less bulky 2nd row in Parling. To me Jones has fixed this, both Hookers in the squad are better in the scrum and we have a much larger 2nd row. Scrum fixed, maybe, hopefully????? The players we have and Borthwick as coach lineout should be fine.

The Centres – looked good with Burrell and JJ, (could have been brilliant with Slade?) looked terrible with Burgess and BB. With both Burgess and BB out we will likely have JJ at 13 who is fighting to keep his slot due to ED. At 12 we’re short of quality generally, I personally like Eastmond, however we get to develop Devoto or try out Farrell against Scotland. Both of which are good distributing players that will help develop a passing game plan at 12 while Slade is out. I would call this option A, option B being get big Manu at 12 which will no doubt see towards the end of the tournament. So centres slightly better for now but a clear game plan is being developed whilst we wait for Slade and Manu to return?

The back row – In the WC no no.7 seemed to equal no ball. EJ has relieved Robshaw of having to play at 7 and picked him in his favoured 6 role that got him the squad in the first place, the way I see it we’ve gained a brilliant 6. Difficult to see where the 7 will come from, but Haskell has been playing well and has played there before and is an experienced international so lets give him a go, if not give Kvesic a go but I think he’s right not to try Kvesic at Murrayfield. 8 is easy BV starts, lets see Beaumont developed as back up in the fullness of time (Hughes in the Autumn?) Also Clifford makes the step up from the bench who will hopefully grow into the 7 that we want. All in all back row looks better and we’re developing someone to fill the inefficiencies.

Crazy substitutions – many examples of Lancaster tooling this up, most recent was v Wales in the group stage, also away to France when we lost at the death. I like that at least EJ has players on the bench that won’t come on and then the team fall apart around them causing us to throw away games in the last 10mins (a hooker that can throw, a decent scrum half, hopefully not Goode) we should also get the chance to see the odd new cap. We wont know until after the game but I am less fearful about what happen on the hour mark when the substitutions com raining in, at the moment!

So I’m optimistic, EJ has fixed or is at least trying to fix the glaring issues whilst giving out a few new caps. Stick Daly in the 23 shirt and bring Itoje onto the bench and I’m very happy.

Hard to know what will work until we see what the game plan is? I read a headline that says we will be concentrating on the set piece. Yawn. Been there, tried that for last 20 yrs and hasn’t been the major issue. Set piece becoming less and less important. Running rugby expansive and adventurous would be a change and might get us closer to defeating the only nations that count and they are not in Northern hemisphere.

Am somewhat concerned by the interview in the Telegraph today. Excerpt below. I hope he’s just having Cleary on – oh and it also strongly suggests we will be seeing Farrell at 12

“Just stick the ball in the air, chase hard and get everyone to clap. If you are not a strong side, you can guarantee a close game. Rugby is exactly the same. Every time you run with the ball, you take a greater risk than if you kick. We don’t want to be reckless. But we don’t want to be like Stoke City of old either.”

Don’t find that concerning at all. It is exactly how the AB’s play.

When it isn’t on they kick. When it is, they go. Jones has said a few times that he wants England to play in that way. He has said something along the lines of; “it doesn’t matter if we’re in our own 22, if we have a 5 on 3 then we go.”

Equally – he doesn’t know the skillsets well enough of each player yet. I’m fine with this 6 nations, especially the first game away at Scotland, being slightly more conservative as long as we seriously attacking development over the next 12-18 months.

I wouldn’t be too concerned about this. This is part of the reason he’s brought Gustard in. Sarries play that way mot of the time, a hard kick chase, and then exert pressure with a hard defence to keep the opposition in their half of the pitch, and force mistakes or win turnovers. Force them into kicking back to you from deep and go on the counter attack if it’s on.

This partial quote totally misrepresents what Eddie actually said
Full quote goes:

Eddie Jones has vowed to make a success of the England job – without resorting to playing like the “old Stoke City”.

The Aussie chose Wednesday’s RBS Six Nations launch to deliver his mission statement, making it clear he will challenge England’s players as never before.

“Every time you attack there is a risk involved,” said Jones.

“If you want to play like the old Stoke City, that’s the safest way to play, isn’t it? Just stick the ball in the air, chase hard and get everyone to clap. If you’re not a strong side, you can guarantee a close game.

“It is about developing the mindset, so you have the belief and confidence to run with the ball and look after it properly. That’s what we want in our team.”

Leon – that puts a completely different spin on it than the Cleary article. A lesson for me to read more than one journo!

Dazza and Jacob – Leon’s quote puts my mind at rest somewhat. Cleary’s article had me rather concerned that EJ would be looking good to play like Ireland Mark 2 – a gameplan brutally exposed at the RWC

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