Jeremy Guscott column: Eddie Jones needs smart, abrasive forwards to lead the charge

The forwards Eddie Jones selects will give us the first indication of what style England will adopt under his coaching. At first glance his selection up front looks straightforward enough due to the number of players he has to choose from, but the reality is that it will be much more difficult than it looks because a lot of the Premiership clubs have different styles of play.
This is where coaching England differs from coaching New Zealand. If we look at All Black locks Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick and Luke Romano there’s not a lot of difference between how they play or how their respective New Zealand provincial teams do. Compare that to Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Courtney Lawes (Northampton), Geoff Parling (Exeter)  and Dave Attwood (Bath) – who are not only very different in their individual styles but also play for teams whose forward approach varies – and you can start to see the challenges Eddie will have, and not just in the second row.
My view of the England locks is that they are all good at doing a couple of things, but are not good at everything. For instance, Lawes is seen as a great defender and is also employed as a carrier, while Parling is seen as a lineout guy, but not a scrum heavyweight, and you don’t see him carrying much. Attwood is the enforcer type who gives you scrummaging power and grunt, and also a front line-out option, and although Launchbury is more the all-rounder, most English locks have a label.
By comparison the Kiwi locks are excellent in every area. As well as having outstanding core second row skills, their reading of the game, ball-handling and defence are exceptional.
In my experience it’s difficult for coaches to develop a player much more at international level, and the better the player the more they thrive in an elite competitive environment. We all knew who was good, in form and likely to be picked because they consistently played well for their club and country. So, there were few surprises.
Most of the forwards came from a few successful sides, and not a lot has changed in that sense. Sarries, Saints and Tigers have in the recent past provided most of the English pack, but because Exeter and Wasps have stepped up their results this season their players are also pressing for selection.
England traditionally have a very good set piece, but in recent times we have seen that international advantage diminish quite rapidly. The good news for Jones is that looking at how the likes of Sarries, Wasps and Tigers have coped with European competition, its back in good shape – albeit supported by overseas imports.
Eddie Jones will probably be looking for players that deliver more than the number on their shirt suggests. If you are to pick a player who can perform only a specialist role then he needs to be so good at it that the fact he cannot carry the ball hard and fast doesn’t matter.
Eddie must be excited by the challenge of coaching these forwards from the different club packs playing in different styles, and inspiring them to play an even better quality of game for their country.
Players win national caps because of the performances they’ve put together for their club, and they need to be set free to do that for their country rather than being given a new prescription about how to play.
I’d like to see Jones select forwards that have an attacking edge as well as defensive aggression – but finding those who that hit as hard in the tackle as they do when carrying the ball offensively is not easy.
The candidates at prop are an example. Kieran Brookes may not be available for the Six Nations after having a knee operation, but he and his tight-head rival Dan Cole both scrummage well, both concede about the same number of penalties, lift in the lineout, clear out rucks, and work hard in a maul.
Where Brookes looks more comfortable carrying the ball than Cole, the Leicester No.3 turns over more opposition ball. Both have a decent tackle success percentage, but the big question for the England coach, with one tight-head better in attack and the other in defence, is who do you start the game with and who goes on the bench?
Joe Marler was first choice loosehead for England during the World Cup, and Harlequins are having a decent start to the season. Marler’s been in reasonable form, but he has competition from Matt Mullan, who has been a high contributor in a Wasps team playing very well. Mullan’s success stems from playing alongside players who help his game, with the likes of Ashley Johnson, Launchbury and Nathan Hughes meaning he doesn’t have to do all the carrying work.
As for hooker, if Jones goes for a No.2 who actually hooks the ball, that will tell us he’s going down the route of getting the ball out and attacking – as opposed to keeping it in and scrummaging for the penalty all the time.
Who plays seven for England will be the most interesting forward selection bar none. In my view Chris Robshaw was the best of the Premiership opensides during Stuart Lancaster‘s time. Steffon Armitage couldn’t be selected back then, and as it stands he still won’t be.
That means the boys in the frame to play seven alongside Robshaw are Matt Kvesic, Will Fraser, Jack Clifford and Brendon O’Connor.  No-one has been so good to warrant selection by default – and that’s been a challenge that England players have given their head coaches since the retirement of Neil Back.
None of these possibilities jump out at me as the chosen one. O’Connor is New Zealand by birth, but has an English grandmother that qualifies him. He is a real fetcher and carrier and plays like an out-and-out seven, as does Kvesic, who leads the Premiership turn-overs won table with 12.
However, Gloucester are having an indifferent season, and it’s not as if Kvesic is playing so well he makes the difference between winning and losing on his own. That said, he’s young and probably deserves an opportunity to prove he can be better alongside quality players.
Clifford’s running game reminds me a bit of Michael Hooper, but he’s not anywhere near as good on the floor. Eddie Jones may feel he can pick someone of 6ft 3ins or 6ft 4ins and make him a very competitive openside, but I can’t see it. He will have to be exceptional for it to work, and Jones will have to decide whether Clifford can make the transition from No.8.
Clifford is being talked up as a 7, but until now he’s not shown enough over the ball for me, and given his athletic ability maybe he’s a blindside or No.8.
Fraser is making good strides after a long injury lay-off. He strikes me as a smart player good enough to adapt and change his game from a carrying style to more of a pass and support like a George Smith.
I’d like Eddie Jones to start the New Year by selecting forwards that are smart, have an edge about them, and consistently play well. He’s the expert when it comes to selecting good packs, and I really hope he gets it right so England’s best can start to shine.