England have a squad for the Six Nations. Thirty-seven names are a start, even if Eddie Jones can do nothing with the fit and able among them other than keep his fingers crossed for their safe passage through the final qualifying rounds of the European Champions and Challenge Cups. Only then will they become his for the Six Nations. In the days ahead he can do no more than carry on touring the land and reiterating the oath that goes with his job: of making England the best.
It would be downright silly to say anything else and it’s not as if he’s the only coach obliged to be ambitious. Only in Italy perhaps are expectations slightly more tempered. In Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France there are fresh four-year cycles to initiate, plans to hatch and destinies to fulfil.
Seeking a definition of oneself does seem peculiar to England. Other countries – and not just in the Six Nations – are far more at ease with themselves, largely because they know who they are. Or who they are not. Not to be England generally does it for the non-English.
If England want to be clear about themselves at the start of this new age, it may be best to keep their profiling simple. Jones has already suggested a straightforward approach: big and mean up front and yet able to pass the ball down the backline. It will do, even if it fails to go into any detail about the nature of the passes.
One thing is sure. Scotland will be fuelled by World Cup injustice and by the discourtesy of being made anything but favourites – recent history is not in their favour – for the Calcutta Cup match at Murrayfield on the first Saturday of February. A storm is coming England’s way and there’s no point in trying to perfect a nimble-footed dance to avoid trouble.
Who then might fit the bill for the opening encounter? It would be interesting to see a fresh face, Josh Beaumont or Maro Itoje, thrown into the cauldron up front, to see if the thrill of representing this new England might so inspire a young player that he becomes its very identity. Jones has said, however, that he might wait for a less frenzied occasion to bring in new blood. There may still be a place for them on the bench – and for the new prop, Paul Hill – to absorb and learn, and then come on for a blast at the end.
Old faces will start and here England have to recalibrate some experienced campaigners. To be dominant you have to be ferocious, but if you lose your restraint the penalty-count against you mounts and your efficiency suffers, and without control you cannot be dominant. Dan Cole must not give away penalties over the ball; Dylan Hartley must be a model citizen in the face of whatever assaults him by way of Scottish taunt and intimidation. He has been in this position many times before and has sometimes responded magnificently. He has also gone the other way.
In the second row Courtney Lawes and Joe Launchbury may be kept apart. Perhaps they are a bit too similar, too willowy, to play the part of the heavyweight enforcer, the hitter of rucks, the grunter. It’s not clear if George Kruis is exactly that either, but somebody has to offer himself for invisible toil.
Does Jack Clifford play at 7? Does Jones not think he may end up at 8? It seems England are committed to having a conventional kind of open-side and since they have failed to find one since Neil Back perhaps now is the chance to hand the shirt to Clifford and give him a run. He brings height to the position, which is not always an advantage when rummaging at ground level but he would help the lineout. Billy Vunipola and Chris Robshaw, 8 and 6, are more lifters than easily lifted.
Danny Care seems to be tipped to start at scrum-half, the buzzing half-back ahead of the more elegant passer, Ben Youngs. Perhaps Owen Farrell will get the nod ahead of George Ford, the form of his club, Saracens, being stronger than Ford’s Bath.
If his knee allows, Jack Nowell, as inventive and elusive as anybody, should start, with Anthony Watson – now that Mike Brown and Alex Goode are the chosen full-backs – on the opposite wing. There would be every reason to give a Nowell-Brown-Watson back three every opportunity, but the supply depends on the midfield and here, just as it was for Stuart Lancaster, there are questions.
The answer to any and all of these queries about England’s ability to manage the flow of the game through their midfield seems to be simple: Manu Tuilagi. He is back for Leicester and back in the England squad, but so long has he been away that surely he will have to wait. The Wales game has been earmarked for his return.
In the meantime? The Bath combination of Ollie Devoto and Jonathan Joseph, or the pairing of Sam Hill and Elliot Daly? Farrell at 12? Will we know anything until the new coach starts real work with his first squad? Absolutely not.
These are the lovely days of immodest aspirations and crossed fingers.
