England were embarrassed in their last outing in the Six Nations, putting forward one of their worst performances in the history of the competition in the modern era. Despite the talent available to Eddie Jones, the Red Rose won only two of their five matches, suffering defeats at the hands of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England proved that talent was not the issue in their ranks after beating France at Twickenham with a brilliant performance, but lapses in concentration and a lack of clinical edge cost them against the home nations.
The pressure is on Jones to issue a response, beginning with the Autumn Internationals heading into the Six Nations. England are backed 9/2 at https://www.paddypower.com/bet to win the Six Nations, named as the second favourites behind France for the tournament. Whether they deserve that sentiment remains to be seen, although they will have time to hone their skills against South Africa and Australia along with Tonga. It will be worth tracking their progress in the sports betting news before committing to a wager on the Red Rose for the Six Nations.
Given their poor performance in the Six Nations, it would be a surprise for Jones’ team to underachieve again as his teams have gone through ups and downs since his appointment in 2016. The Australian has more often than not succeeded in his role and he for one will be determined to avenge England’s Rugby World Cup final defeat against the Springboks and maintain their recent dominance over Australia.
Jones has already displayed a ruthless streak that was required to overhaul a squad that was becoming predictable and tired in its style. The Australian opted to leave out several former key players, as noted by the www.independent.co.uk/sport/, from his 45-man training squad ahead of the Autumn Internationals, including backs Elliot Daly and George Ford, along with Jamie George, Mako and Billy Vunipola from the forward line. Jones has insisted that the door is not closed on their England future, but he has set the tone that past performances are no guarantee that you will be included in his team.
Daly was a surprise omission considering his selection for the Lions’ Tour during the summer. His versatility has served England well in the past, but the competition in the backfield is intense and there were even questions regarding the future of Owen Farrell after his lacklustre form. Ford paid the price for his poor Six Nations, while the fitness problems of the Vunipola brothers may have cost them their slots in the squad.
However, there is also talent pushing through the ranks such as Marcus Smith. The fly-half is one of the most exciting prospects to have broken through in recent years, as www.planetrugby.com highlights, and appears to be on course to start at number 10 in the autumn. George Furbank, Ollie Lawrence and Max Malins are also bright talents and have been breathing on the necks of the entrenched starters for a good while. Jones is now giving them the opportunity to flourish alongside elements of the old guard Farrell, Jonny May, Anthony Watson and Ben Youngs. Those experienced players are also on notice that their performances must improve to retain their spots in the line-up.
These changes should have come sooner, but Jones is finally delivering the message that English rugby cannot afford to rest on their laurels.
