Thursday 25 May 2017 14:38, UK
Eddie Jones wants his young England side to back themselves when they take on the Barbarians at Twickenham on Sunday.
Jones has picked eight uncapped players in his starting XV with the likes of Jack Singleton, Will Collier, Nick Isiekwe, Josh Beaumont, Alex Lozowski, Sam James and Nathan Earle all getting the nod.
And Jones says it is a great opportunity for them to prove themselves in what he describes as "the heat of the kitchen".
"Moving towards the World Cup it's a fantastic opportunity, with so many players unavailable at the weekend, for a number of young guys and uncapped players to play in a high-quality game against a high-quality team,"Jones told Englandrugby.com
"They need to back themselves, that's important, the reason they are in the team is because they have got something."
With a number of new faces included, Jones has noted the change in atmosphere in the squad ahead of the game.
"It has been a fun week" Jones added. "They have worked hard, that's normal but it has been real fun working with the young players, so much enthusiasm, so much zest to learn and they have picked things up really quickly.
"Our senior guys have been great with them, they have really helped them a lot. You see in the corner older guys working with younger guys going through certain aspects of the game.
"It has been a different week's preparation, the sun has been out so you can't have it any better."
Jones has named a further seven uncapped names in his replacements bench, one of which is flanker Sam Underhill.
"He's done really well for the Ospreys, he is a good hard-working traditional number seven, hard on the ball, and we're hopeful he will develop linkage skills."
England take on a star-studded Barbarians side at Twickenham Stadium on Sunday and Jones is relishing the fixture, which will be the 16th meeting between the sides.
"The great thing about playing the Barbarians is that they have a number of players who are very difficult to plan against, they have some extremely innovative players," said Jones.
"The Barbarians traditionally play with a bit of initiative so we are looking forward to that challenge of adapting on the day.
"You never quite know what you are going to get with them. I think they will go out there with a lot of attacking intent, coached by Vern Cotter who did such an exceptional job with Scotland, and I'm sure they'll use ball and play with plenty of endeavour and a high pace."
