Six Nations 2018: Eddie Jones warns some players may not play for England again after Ireland loss

'Some guys have come in and done really well and some may struggle to participate in the future'

Eddie Jones warned that some players who suffered a third consecutive Six Nations defeat may have played their last game for England after his side confirmed their worst finish in the competition in 35 years.

England slumped to their third consecutive defeat – and first at Twickenham in the Six Nations since 2012 – in a 24-15 defeat by the newly-crowned champions Ireland, who celebrated only their third men’s Grand Slam in their history to add to the 1948 and 2009 triumphs.

Jones meanwhile must assess what has gone so wrong for his side, having seen them go from table-toppers in 2016 and 2017 to finishing in fifth for the first time since 1983. Part of that assessment could well see certain players axed from his squad, and having made seven personnel changes for the Ireland clash following defeats by Scotland and France, the head coach is prepared to be just as ruthless ahead of the summer tour of South Africa.

“It’s been complex,” Jones said. “We’re playing without five top back-rowers and other injuries. Some guys have come in and done really well and some may struggle to participate in the future. We have to get a greater depth to our squad that can play test rugby.”

When pushed on whether he was revealing that he won’t pick certain squad members again, Jones responded: “I did not say that. I said there might be some players that don’t participate so don’t put words in my mouth please.

“There are some guys who are starting their international careers and they need time. I have to decide whether I have got time to get them ready for the World Cup.”

Sam Simmonds and Don Armand are two of those players who have been brought into the international fold this season, and with Billy Vunipola on his way back to fitness, the Australian appears to be torn on whether the Exeter Chiefs pair will be up to speed with international rugby by the time the 2019 Rugby World Cup begins next September. Simmonds struggled against Ireland’s world class back-row, and while the breakdown issues that have dogged England this competition were slightly repaired, too often England found themselves unable to do anything with the 54 per cent possession that that had.

Having now suffered three straight defeats, Jones admitted that his side were lacking in both confidence and leadership, but disagreed that they have regressed despite the sudden drop off in form.

“I don’t think we have,” he added. “In terms of results, we have. But in terms of where we want to go as a team, we are moving forward. I know that is hard to see.”

A dejected Dylan Hartley looks on during England's defeat by Ireland (Getty)

With two-and-a-half months to prepare for the three-Test tour of South Africa, Jones admitted that there is nothing glaringly wrong for him to fix, but rather lots of small issues that need to be ironed out if England are to get back onto the right track in order to compete at the World Cup in Japan.

“There is nothing that stands out that we massively need to fix,” he said. “There are a number of things that are ongoing. We have spoken about leadership density – having more leaders on the field – and that is something that is a slow burner, you have got to build that, you have got to keep working on it. That is really important for us.

“We have had a slight fix in the breakdown this week but Ireland didn’t contest as many possibly as the two previous teams did. You can fix that and it is always selection.”