There really is some incredible young talent coming through. Reckon he will take some young 9's too? I'd love to see Quirke and JvP in an England shirt.
He did mention looking at 9's as well, also noticeable he said when asked if England players had lost places in the Lions due to poor six nations performance he said " in that case, we'll be resting some of those guys"
I'll post the interview here
Eddie Jones has identified Marcus Smith and Joe Simmonds among a number of potential England debutants this summer, with the head coach set to cast his eye over a dozen prospects in the coming weeks as the
Rugby Football Union mulls over his future.
Jones said after the
dismal defeat by Ireland on Saturday that he would be making changes to his England squad – if he stays in the role – and his hand would be somewhat forced for matches against USA and Canada this summer, assuming they go ahead, with a number of his senior players set to be away with the British & Irish Lions.
Jones, meanwhile, is set to press on with his planning and has highlighted scrum-half and fly-half as positions in which he is looking for young talent. In all but one of his 64 Tests in charge, Jones has picked either George Ford or Owen Farrell to start at fly-half – the exception being Danny Cipriani, once, in 2018 – which has contributed to the perception he has become too loyal to a core group of players.
Smith was previously involved in a number of training squads while Jones – who also namechecked Wasps' Charlie Atkinson and Worcester's 18-year-old Fin Smith – has come under fire for consistently ignoring Simmonds, who captained Exeter to a Premiership and European Cup double last season.
At scrum-half Jones has only ever started Ben Youngs, Danny Care, Willi Heinz or Richard Wigglesworth – all of whom are 30 or older. "I am going to be up and down the freeways the next few weeks," he said. "We have a list of 10-12 players we are going to look at. There are some good young guys, particularly in the 9s and 10s and that is the hardest area to adapt to Test rugby.
"There are some young 10s like Atkinson, Marcus Smith, Fin Smith, Simmonds at Exeter. They are all possibly going to have the opportunity to step up to the plate. It is the toughest position in world rugby. You have so much pressure, so little time and space, a lot of decisions to make so it's a fantastic opportunity for one of the young guys to step up."
England's 32-18 loss to Ireland – meaning they lost to all three of their home nations rivals for the first time in 45 years – may well end up costing a number of Jones's players a place in the Lions squad. "We might rest a few if that's the case," Jones added when speaking to the O2 Inside Line podcast. "We are really keen to bring some younger guys through. It is the right time for us in terms of our World Cup planning."
I'd just play Simmonds at 8 and try and play an actual 12 at 12.
www.telegraph.co.uk
