A year on from England’s World Cup win against New Zealand, the head coach has picked a squad for a sport that is changing rapidly
Exactly a year ago this week Eddie Jones was basking in a World Cup semi-final victory against New Zealand in Yokohama, among the most triumphant moments of his coaching career. The final turned out less brilliantly for him but it was still easy to imagine England returning from Japan and enjoying themselves in the 2020 Six Nations championship.
Sport, and life, is rarely so predictable. Even so, no one envisaged England would still be waiting in late October to conclude their Six Nations campaign in Rome, with nine of the 23-man squad who beat New Zealand unavailable or not selected for the tournament’s finale. Jones was always going to have some rebuilding to do but, suddenly, there is scaffolding everywhere.
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