Eddie Jones will surely build his back row around his new No 8 but coach may regret not having tried a couple more rolls of the dice
The theory went that this was a conservative England team selected by Eddie Jones. That the number of matches before the World Cup is dwindling and this was the time to give fringe players a taste of the white heat of Six Nations battle. Jones was having none of it, but it cannot be denied that the most eye-catching performance of this ultimately predictable victory – England’s self-styled hunters eventually feasting on their Italian prey – was that of Sam Simmonds, the newest member of this side.
Granted Simmonds’s selection was hardly a surprise, given that Billy Vunipola and Nathan Hughes were out injured and alternative options at No 8 were thin on the ground. But his was a performance to set the pulse racing and make you wonder whether England and Jones might have benefited from a couple more rolls of the dice in terms of selection.
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