What had been looking like the toughest selection of Eddie Jones’s three-year England tenure has once again been hijacked by events. The unavailability of Ben Te’o for the opening Six Nations Test has not merely blown a sizeable hole in the coach’s midfield strategy but dispelled any notion that, at last, England have uncovered the secret of keeping their best players fit.
With Brad Shields and Joe Cokanasiga also unavailable to feature, the first England team announcement of the calendar year on Thursday is no longer quite as hard to predict as it might have been. That said, Jones still has some major calls to make, not just in the context of the championship but the World Cup as well. While Manu Tuilagi may finally be back, does anyone know for certain what Jones’s best combination look like?
Written by Robert Kitson in Vilamoura
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2019/jan/29/eddie-jones-england-six-nations-ireland under the title “Eddie Jones’ forced to shuffle an England pack in need of cohesion”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
