Ollie Phillips: The squad is exciting but it’s still classic Eddie Jones
When I saw the England squad Eddie Jones had named for the Six Nations on Tuesday evening, I was actually pleasantly surprised.
It is good to see head coach Eddie Jones picking in-form players this year, though I must say the squad seems rather predictable.
The return of Owen Farrell is no surprise. Jones is a loyal coach and we should be expecting to see the Saracens No10 slot into the backline – though we will likely see him at centre.
That said, Farrell has been injured since the autumn so there is a real question mark hovering surrounding how quickly he can get up to Test match fitness.
No, says Jones
I am surprised to see no George Ford. Fans spent ages trying to get him dropped from the England squad and now everyone wants him back in. That’s the name of the game I suppose.
The lack of Ben Earl, too, surprises me. I think the Sarries back row has felt like a new signing for the north London club since his return from a loan spell at Bristol.
It is great to see the two best players in the league selected in Marcus Smith and Alex Dombrandt, though.
The Harlequins duo have had stormers for their club this year and rarely fall flat in the Premiership. In the autumn, too, their mistakes were sparse.
This squad, on the whole, is an exciting one. But what this does pose to Eddie Jones is an acid test of his faith in the new boys.
Is he choosing uncapped players who cover multiple positions and can help England get through, hopefully, the last Covid-19 hit Six Nations – even if he knows they won’t make the World Cup in 2023?
Or is Jones picking these lads because he really backs them? If it’s the latter then it will be fascinating to see how many caps each of the new players has by the end of March.
Wasps back row Alfie Barbeary is a monster of a player, he’s so dynamic and agile. I can see him really growing into this England team throughout this tournament and beyond.
It’s at centre where I am most curious, however. Farrell is the obvious choice at No12 when you glance over the squad, but what if he is not fit?
We could see Gloucester centre Mark Atkinson, who is Manu Tuilagi-like in his carrying, or Joe Marchant step in.
Uncapped Luke Northmore and Max Malins, too, could take that spot outside of Smith. It’s genuinely quite exciting.
Reality check
I do think we need to tinge this Jones squad selection with some reality though. Most rugby nuts would name a pretty similar starting XV for England based on that squad – as would Eddie.
It will therefore be interesting to see whether these players genuinely get a game or two from the outset or whether it will be a series of single-figure minutes in each match – if at all.
France’s, bigger, 41-man squad has some really exciting young talent. But with the French set-up as it is, you can bet your bottom dollar those players will be playing if they’re good enough. I am not so sure that’s the case with Jones’s England right now.
He’s right in what he said in the week with regards to the goal being the World Cup.
This competition could be a real blooding ground for some of these potential stars.
Imagine Barbeary or Northmore heading into the World Cup in France with 15 or 20 caps to their name, rather than five or six.
As I say, this is a test for jones. But the squad is exciting and I’m curious to see whether it all clicks.
Former England Sevens captain Ollie Phillips is the founder of Optimist Performance, experts in leadership development and behavioural change. Follow Ollie on Twitter and on LinkedIn.