Eddie Jones says England are focusing on here and now, not 2023 Rugby World Cup

Australian coach’s side saw off Wales 33-30 at Twickenham on Saturday to end their Six Nations campaign prematurely with three wins from four

Eddie Jones offered an insight into his recent selection decisions as England wrapped up this season’s Six Nations campaign a week earlier than planned, with the head coach revealing he is currently planning for the here and now, not 2023 Rugby World Cup glory.

England finished their campaign, for now, by clinching the Triple Crown for the first time since 2016 with a topsy-turvy 33-30 victory over Wales, which saw Jones’ side completely dominate their opponents to race to a 17-point lead, only for Manu Tuilagi to be sent off for a dangerous tackle. A late fightback then gave the scoreline a much tighter look.

With England’s final match of the championship against Italy postponed indefinitely, they can only sit and wait to learn when they will properly wrap up the campaign, which allows them to carry out their post-tournament reflection much earlier than anticipated. Jones sat down with both his players and staff on Sunday to dissect the Six Nations, but he did give an explanation into some of the selection choices that he has made throughout the last five weeks that answers the criticism that has come his way.

“We are not thinking about a World Cup cycle, no team does now,” said Jones. “The World Cup is three distinct projects. The first two years is trying to put enough credit in the bank, the second lot of two years is trying to develop a team that can win the World Cup, then you have the final three months where you can make changes to it tactically and physically. So we are just trying to put credit in the bank now.”

That has been apparent where Jones has backed both old and new. George Furbank was one of the new names that came into the squad at the start of the tournament, while Ben Earl has also shown glimpses of what he can offer from the replacements’ bench. Alternatively, man of the match Ben Youngs showed there is plenty of life in him yet, with the scrum-half using his 99th England appearance to deliver his best performance since the World Cup semi-final win over New Zealand, while George Kruis has enjoyed a wonderful tournament even if he is destined for this summer’s tour of Japan.

Will Stuart has also emerged this year at Bath to replace Dan Cole in the squad, while Jones has uncharacteristically talked up young Northampton scrum-half Alex Mitchell, who looks certain to come into the side in the very near future, and with the plan simply to win every match right now, there will undoubtedly be more regeneration of the World Cup finalists between now and France 2023.

“Furbank, Mitchell, we’ve had Ben Earl come through, Will Stuart – they are four guys for us who have all done really well,” explained Jones. “Four guys is, what, 15 per cent of your squad, so that’s a good rotation.

“At full-back, George Furbank is going to be a good player. Elliot Daly I thought played some of his best rugby and Henry Slade gives us another option. It’s such a crucial position in the game now with the amount of kicking, so to have three good options there is absolutely outstanding.”

It means that with England focused on winning for the foreseeable future, Jones is likely to select a close to full strength squad for the tour of Japan. Initially the Rugby Football Union (RFU) announced the post-World Cup tour as a chance for those with the most minutes on the clock to take a well-earned breather, but with Saracens destined for the Championship next season and a core of England’s leading players set for a drastic reduction in the number of games they play, all of them are likely to be heading back to the Far East at the end of June.

“It’s about winning. As I said, the first two years are about getting credit in the bank,” Jones added. “[Selection] depends on the players. Once we get down to selection for Japan, and we’ll start it tomorrow, we’ll start to look at what each player needs to have.”

Addressing his Saracens contingent in Jamie George, Maro Itoje, Elliot Daly, the Vunipola brothers and captain Owen Farrell, Jones said: “They’ve got to play some rugby, don’t they? It’s either playing Jersey or Japan.

“That is not our priority, that’s the priority of Saracens. But we will be confident we’ll get them in. If they’re good enough to be selected, we’ll get them in the best condition they can be to play Test rugby.”

Strangely enough, Jones also hinted that could apply to Kruis. The lock is reportedly in talks to join Tokyo-based Japanese side Hino Red Dolphins, and while the RFU do have the capability of selecting players available abroad, Kruis’ situation does not look to meet the ‘special circumstances’ clause.

(PA (PA)

“Well, just because he goes to Japan doesn’t mean he can’t play for England,” said Jones, “but there’s special exceptions.

“We are not concerned with George, whether it’s his last game. All we know is that if he wants to keep playing for England, we’ll just wait and see.”

Kruis was also giving little away, even though he appeared to wave goodbye when he was replaced alongside close friend Jamie George. “I was just waving to my mum in the crowd. You can read into that what you like,” said Kruis.

“I’m always unbelievably grateful to play for England, especially in a squad like we have at the moment. I’ll have my hand up wherever I am.

“I just need to have a debrief from the back of the Six Nations, get back to my club and go from there.”