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[2021 Six Nations] England Squad

Old Hooker said:
Nowell brings something a bit different, but what position? His pace was always a bit of a concern on the wing and injuries won't have helped that. Always a good option to have around though.
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Outside centre.
We could play a backline with 4/5 outside centres; none of them wearing 13
 
Nowell's always looked good when he's played 15 for Chiefs IMO (bar one quite poor defensive performance a few seasons ago where Beaumont made a bit of a mockery of him). From an England perspective it's quite disappointing that Exeter signed Hogg as I think Nowell could've been a real option there at FB. It would suit his game far better.
 
Underhill starting for Bath this weekend.
Will he rejoin the England squad? Or was his place replaced for the duration of the 6N? Not sure what the bubble criteria or rules might be.
 
Jones says the England set-up is "feeling a bit of pain" given their poor tournament so far, but says constant contact from his players during the fallow week shows they are in the right state of mind to arrest the side's form, with unbeaten France the visitors to Twickenham on Saturday.

"We are fighting hard and the players' honest reflections on making mistakes is an indication that they are in the right mindset to get this team back to where you want to be," he explained.

But when asked why he has struggled to build depth in certain positions, such as number eight, scrum-half, fly-half and full-back, Jones suggested he is somewhat hamstrung by the make-up of the talent pool in England, with better players coming through in some positions compared to others.

"I think Arsene Wenger had that quote, when someone asked him if he would be the England national coach, and he said no because he didn't control the talent coming through," Jones said.

"And as the national coach I don't control the talent coming through. I've just got to try and pick the best talent and luckily enough I get a lot of advice on that.

"There's never an equal flow of talent coming through. You get periods where you get great nines coming through, great tens coming through, great back-rowers, and then for some reason there is a dearth, and no-one seems to know why.

"We've just got to make do with what we have, try and find the best ones and nurture them, and give them the right sort of development so when they do play for England they go and play 50 caps."
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Quote from Jones on the BBC.

So essentially guys here's the answer. He doesn't rate english players. Marcus Smith isn't good enough apparently. Argh, livid at that comment. :mad:
 
Wendigo7 said:
Quote from Jones on the BBC.

So essentially guys here's the answer. He doesn't rate english players. Marcus Smith isn't good enough apparently. Argh, livid at that comment. :mad:
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It's complete bullshit. If someone like Sam Simmonds is breaking try scoring records, has won everything that can be at club level and has won European player of the year, for Jones to claim that he isn't a suitable talent is complete bullshit. Yes he may not perfectly fit the type of 8 Jones wants but if Jones flat out refuses to adjust his setup to what is available then that is poor coaching. He has more capacity to be rigid with his player choice at England than he would in many other countries but when 1/3rd of the team are untouchable without putting in the performances to merit it, that is very questionable.

I doubt the problem lies with the quality of the players, the problem lies with Jones. I really wouldn't put it past him to not have form as his primary reason for choosing players and I think the whole squad is run based on personal like or dislike and very little to do with ability, form or any number of performance based metrics.

It's one thing to make excuses but Jones is just telling outright lies now.
 
Coach under pressure doubles down, it's frustrating but hardly surprising.

He also went one about Farrell is still learning captaincy.....what 3 years into the job?
 
Wendigo7 said:
Quote from Jones on the BBC.

So essentially guys here's the answer. He doesn't rate english players. Marcus Smith isn't good enough apparently. Argh, livid at that comment. :mad:
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So that's essentially slagging off the players he IS picking, let alone the ones he's wilfully ignoring.
 
TRF_Olyy said:
What an absolute shithouse thing to say
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And you're surprised, because?

He's right in that there's an uneven distribution of talent between positions though. Always has been, always will be, that's cyclical and something coaches just have to deal with.

A coach's job is to play the hand they're dealt, improve individuals and get the team to be more than the sum of its parts. Which Jones has been failing at since Japan.

There's plenty of talent around. And you can't tell me that Jones didn't have a good look at the talent pipeline before taking the RFU's cheque.
 
I know Jones likes to take the **** a bit with the media, often saying stupid things or stuff to wind people up to the media. But instead of saying things about the opposition or the media he's just annoyed his own players instead?
Not sure what his play is with that, apart from trying to dodge some responsibility. If you compare this team to the one that got knocked out of the WC in 2015 it's a lot more talented.
 
While I think Jones is a prick and doesn't know how to pick the best players and really create a team spirit the premiership talent is lacking in certain positions.

I have no sympathy for Jones seeing as he hasn't even tried to help himself but we have really struggled in positions like 12 while having loads of 13s and struggled for a form 15. Other than that we are well stocked so there shouldn't be an issue.
 
Attitude in camp must be a bit **** after that, players not getting game time have just been outed in the press as terrible players
and then guys like Marcus Smith, Ben Spencer etc. - tearing up trees for their clubs, but no where near good enough to even be in contention for England - and never will be

I wonder if the people who had a go at me for saying Jones has bad man management, after the Redpath kerfuffle, will now admit that....his man management needs some work
 
One thing you could say, is that some players look good with certain teams/styles. The great players make a game their own, but they may not be quite as adept in the areas Eddie requires, and the players on the fringes of the squad (genuinely close to it) seem to be in contact with him about work ons and what they need to improve at
It's like if you put any out half behind the Leinster pack, odds are they'll look pretty damn good. Ross Byrne sure does, until all of a sudden the armchair ride goes away

I'd also say Eddie seems a very competitive man, and in my experience of competitive people, winning is paramount. You bet your ass Eddie doesn't give a crap about favourites, he wants to win at all costs, and will be picking what he considers the best players in the country to do so. He considers Ben Youngs better than Ben Spencer, and George Ford better than Marcus Smith, from what he's seen of them in camps
 

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