England head coach Eddie Jones has named his team to play the Barbarians for the Quilter Cup on Sunday 27th May at Twickenham Stadium (KO 3pm, live on Sky Sports Action).
George Ford (Leicester Tigers) and Chris Robshaw (Harlequins) will co-captain the England side again, having done so for last year’s fixture against the Barbarians and Samoa this season.
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers) makes a return in an England shirt for the uncapped match, following a knee injury he picked up against Italy in this season’s NatWest 6 Nations.
Mike Brown (Harlequins) will play on the left wing, with Elliot Daly (Wasps) wearing the number 15 jersey.
Piers Francis (Northampton Saints), who made his England debut in Argentina last June, will partner uncapped Henry Trinder (Gloucester Rugby) in the midfield.
Robshaw will play in the backrow alongside Tom Curry (Sale Sharks) – who became the youngest player to start an international for England in 90 years against Argentina last year- and the former England U20 captain Zach Mercer (Bath Rugby).
Dan Robson (Wasps) and Danny Cipriani (Wasps) are named on the bench for the first time under Jones.
Jones said: “This is a good young squad and their work ethic has been outstanding over the last two weeks. Their application to learn has been very good but they are very young at Test rugby level so this week’s match against the Barbarians is a fantastic opportunity for them to step up.
“It is a great opportunity for them to show they deserve to wear the English rose, to show they can be in contention for the World Cup and a great opportunity for them to put us on the front foot ahead of the South Africa tour.
“You never know what to expect from the Barbarians team. We know they will be well coached by Pat Lam, we know they have got good individual players and some outstanding individual players, so we need to be up for the unexpected.
“As last year Chris Robshaw and George Ford will co-captain the side.Their combined experience and expertise gives us the best captaincy level for the game.
“We can’t wait to get back to Twickenham and get on the front foot, please the fans and play some good rugby.”
Quilter Cup: England side to play Barbarians
15 Elliot Daly (Wasps, 18 caps)
14 Jonny May (Leicester Tigers, 34 caps)
13 Henry Trinder (Gloucester Rugby, uncapped)
12 Piers Francis (Northampton Saints, 3 caps)
11 Mike Brown (Harlequins, 69 caps)
10 George Ford (Leicester Tigers, 45 caps)
9 Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 74 caps)
1 Joe Marler (Harlequins, 56 caps)
2 Jack Singleton (Worcester Warriors, uncapped)
3 Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins, 10 caps)
4 Elliott Stooke (Bath Rugby, uncapped)
5 Joe Launchbury (Wasps, 52 caps)
6 Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, 64 caps)
7 Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 1 cap)
8 Zach Mercer (Bath Rugby, uncapped)
Finishers
16 George McGuigan (Leicester Tigers, uncapped)
17 Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 5 caps)
18 Nick Schonert (Worcester Warriors, uncapped)
19 Josh Beaumont (Sale Sharks,uncapped)
20 Mark Wilson (Newcastle Falcons, 2 caps)
21 Dan Robson (Wasps, uncapped)
22 Danny Cipriani (Wasps, 14 caps)
23 Denny Solomona (Sale Sharks, 2 caps)
Mike Brown on the wing is a smack in the chops to the multitude of talented wingers we have out there that are not being selected. *facepalm*
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Seconded. I really don’t understand the logic at all. Either players who arent likely to tour are getting a chance vs. the BaaBaas, or there is a need to build some consistency and combinations for the tour and beyond. Brown at wing does neither of these and doesnt seem to offer England anything.
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Well definitely didn’t see a lot of these selections coming… Brown on the wing and Daly at 15 caught be off guard – makes me think Jones is worried about the BaaBaas backs, Solomona and Cipriani are hardly known for their robust defence.
Curry and Mercer in the back row is a pleasant surprise, as is Trinder at 13.
Really shocked to see Piers Francis though, not impressed for Saints this season.
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Good opportunity to test Daly at FB. Don’t really get Brown on the wing given the dearth of talent available and the opportunity to test someone new. Maybe Jones wants Brown on the field to be in Daly’s ear if he needs it or something? No idea.
Francis at 12 is a weird one too, could have done with some carrying heft from Te’o given the relative size of our back row.
Good to see Trinder in. And Mercer. And a proper openside at 7. Hope Curry can show the same as he did in the fixture last year.
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Was questioning why the likes of Marler was starting, but seen now that Obano is out for up to 12 months -_- another big injury to a decent England prospect.
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Normal from EJ, some good selections that make me think we are learning and then a couple I just don’t get. Brown on wing seems pointless, unless he is worried Daley has a shocker and wants him there to switch positions early on. Not sure what he will learn from Robshaw, Ford and Young but can understand he doesn’t want too many changes at same time, Francis at 12 is a waste tho imo would much rather have seen Teo to help find Trinder space on the outside.
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I agree with everyone else.Why is he trying people out of position especially Brown?He’s supposed to be preparing for S Africa not trying things out.I wonder if the shock of a crap 6N has got to him.S Africa is huge-we either stop the rot or sink further into it.
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I think he’s fitting Brown in for the following reasons:
1) As an assurance if Daly doesn’t perform well at 15 so he doesn’t have to make a sub
2) As Jones likes his character so Brown can still lead on the pitch
Hopefully this is a sign that Brown is slowly being dropped and eventually (ideally for the World Cup) I’d like to see 11. May/Nowell 14. Watson 15. Daly. One of May or Nowell on the bench depending on who starts/the strength of the opposition.
Elsewhere the back row looks nicely balanced, add in Simmonds off the bench and Billy in at 8 and that looks tidy.
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