Earlier
today, Eddie Jones announced the 36-man squad for a training camp next week in
Bristol, and there were some notable absentees.
Danny Cipriani, arguably the
in-form fly-half in the premiership so far this season, has been omitted, with
the decision being “based on his form”.
It begs the
question as to what Cipriani has to do to get into the squad, and whether
Jones’ comments are actually the whole truth, or whether higher authorities
would not allow him to pick Cipriani for off-field incidents. Yet, the other man
who is surrounded by disciplinary issues, Chris Ashton, has been included in
the squad having not played a competitive game for his new club Sale. Ashton was banned for 7 weeks in a pre-season
match, and is set to return to premiership rugby in mid-October.
Looking
further into the squad, Jones has selected Bath winger Joe Cokanasiga for his
first training camp. Not only does this mean it is likely the former London Irish player will soon be
making his international debut, but he could be a long term solution to replace
Anthony Watson; who has re-torn his Achilles tendon and has been ruled out
until at least January, if not longer.
Other
notable selections include Manu Tuilagi, who has not played for England since
2016, and Brad Shields has been picked despite his facial injury ruling him out
for another few weeks.
So what
should we make of this squad? In all honesty, there hasn’t been a lot of change
compared to recent squads. Cipriani’s exclusion suggests that Jones is
determined to stick to his guns with how he wants to play rugby, with Ford
presumably starting come November. With John Mitchell in place as the new
Defence coach, a lot of the upcoming camp will be focused on fine-tuning that
defence.
The Decision to omit Cipriani has received widespread criticism
Should
England fans be optimistic about this squad, or is it a worrying sign that
Jones is set in his ways and won’t budge from a gameplan that has been failing
of late? Jones still hasn’t properly replaced Glen Ella, and England’s attack
suffered during the Six Nations.
Wisemantel did a good job in South Africa on a short-term contract, but is he the right man going forward? England need to score tries, and to score tries they need flair, which is why Cipriani’s omission from the squad is wrong. Without a serious change, which the Gloucester fly-half can bring, England are going to struggle in the Autumn.
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