Thursday 7 January 2016 16:56, UK
The one thing Eddie Jones has not been short of since accepting the job of England head coach is advice from pundits and former players about who to pick, in both his squad and his team.
No sooner has a guy had a decent game than his name is put forward as a potential saviour of his country. You can probably think of a few names off the top of your head right now.
In theory, Jones can make 10 changes to the Elite Player Squad (EPS), not counting Sam Burgess who has already removed himself from proceedings. However, a nudge on the tiller might be more tempting than a great big heave on the ship's wheel. Until he really gets to learn the ropes in a brand new environment, a bit of continuity might not a bad idea.
One of the many things the World Cup taught us was that successful sides have at least one, sometimes two, pure scavenging open-side flankers. The Wallabies took the mickey by having both Michael Hooper and David Pocock in a formidable back row. Wales could call on the services of Justin Tipuric to give Sam Warburton a helping hand down on the deck.
Lucky number seven
England bucked the trend and it came back to bite them. In the continuing absence of Steffon Armitage, who would be a contender for the No 7 jersey if the Lions were playing a Test tomorrow, Jones must look elsewhere.
The other thing emphasised by last year's global get-together was the need for a play-making inside-centre. Now we know why Michael Cheika accepted the Wallabies job ONLY after winning the vital concession that allowed him to recall, from the wilderness, the sublime Matt Giteau.
In the minds of successful coaches the ability to read a game and bring strike-runners onto the ball at pace clearly outweighs the ability to smash defenders out of the way. Argentina also realised this and picked Juan Martin Hernandez, alongside fly-half Nicholas Sanchez, to great effect (ask Ireland). England opted to pick a big rugby league convert who couldn't keep his hands on the No 12 jersey at his club side.
You can argue all you like that Stuart Lancaster's men were beating Wales in the pool stages until Burgess went off, but in all honesty, how much of a threat did that Red Rose back-line pose that day? In February, with different personnel, England went 10-0 down against a full-strength Wales side in Cardiff, after all the hymns and arias and fire-breathing male-voice choirs, and they still came back to win at a canter.
Core skills
The challenge for Jones is that he's not exactly overburdened with world class players. Can you think of any of his charges who are among the top two or three in the world in their position? His job is to turn up in Japan in 2019 having put together an England outfit with outstanding players in several key positions.
This may require a cultural change in the game at all age levels. There needs to be more of an emphasis on core skills and less fuss made of gym targets and "personal bests". Talent cannot, must not, be wasted.
His first (half) season in charge is going to be a mighty challenge for Jones, beginning as it does with a right old banana-skin of a fixture up at Murrayfield. The players will hardly have got to know the new boss and his coaching team before finding themselves in Edinburgh, probably in swirling rain, facing a pumped-up Scotland. England will have to play exceedingly well to get their campaign off to a winning start.
Then, in the summer, there's a three-Test tour to Australia when everyone's knackered because of the extraordinary amount of rugby that's played in the northern hemisphere. In all, England have nine full-on Test matches between now and the end of the season. How many do you reckon they'll win? It's a sobering thought.
Still, mustn't grumble. Onwards and upwards must be the new mantra. England need to pick themselves up, treat the bits that hurt with the old bucket and sponge, then begin the long trek back to the top of the world game. I cannot wait to see how they get on.
Finally, if you can't beat them, join them. Here's my 23 to play Scotland.
England: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Elliot Daly, 11 Jack Nowell, 10 George Ford, 9 Danny Care; 1 Matt Mullan, 2 Jamie George, 3 David Wilson, 4 Joe Launchbury, 5 Geoff Parling, 6 Maro Itoje, 7 Matt Kvesic, 8 Billy Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Tom Youngs, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 Chris Robshaw, 21 Joe Simpson, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Alex Goode.
