Tuesday 8 December 2015 10:13, UK
New England coach Eddie Jones finally arrived in England and was straight down to business as he went and watched Harlequins beat London Irish and Saracens' win over Newcastle.
Jones has plenty to ponder ahead of the 2016 Six Nations, which kicks off with a trip to Murrayfield on February 6. Coaching staff, Elite Player Squad and who will be captain are all on his agenda as he begins to build for the 2019 World Cup.
Another area of great interest will be who Jones selects at centre. Former coach Stuart Lancaster could never settle on his best midfield combination and the only consistency seemed to be the regular chopping and changing of the 12 and 13 positions.
Exeter's Henry Slade has been in superb form this season but a suspected broken leg could rule him out of contention. With the likes of Manu Tuilagi and Jonathan Joseph still on the road to recovery from their injuries, Jones may be left thinking that the centre cupboard is a little bare.
But not so, says former England No 12 Will Greenwood, who reckons several players have stuck their hands up as serious midfield contenders.
"It's amazing how Henry Slade has only got two caps but we were all relying on him - that just shows the state of play we find ourselves in regards to the midfield," said Greenwood on the Rugby Club Wrap-Up.
"He can play 10, 12 and 13 so he would definitely have been there - I see his long term position as a 12 though and it is a great shame that he got injured.
"With Slade out for a while the two obvious guys in the No 12 jersey are Luther Burrell and Ollie Devoto. I have had my eye on Devoto for a long time - he is happy to go to the line and is a really good distributor with a great kicking game.
"Burrell, well I am loving his out-to-in defence plus he is strong and runs great angles. He has a point to prove and was strong in the media on what impact exclusion from England's World Cup squad had on him.
"He is not the perfect 12 but I think Alex King has had a word in his ear and said 'don't try and be the all-court guru at 12, don't try and be Henry Slade, be Luther Burrell'.
"If you look at the 13 position I think Elliot Daly and Jonathan Joseph are your like-for-like players. Daly has been playing outstandingly well and we must not forget what he has in his armoury - the 50m penalty kick.
"Joseph needs to play himself back into a little bit of form but I am pretty happy with the 13 position."
Farrell on fire
The battle for the No 10 jersey is still a two-horse race between George Ford and Owen Farrell but Greenwood says that on form there is only one winner at the moment.
"At 10 I think Owen Farrell is in outstanding form," added Greenwood.
"He is really controlling Saracens who are the form team in Europe. George Ford is struggling a little bit - but I am always loathe to criticise a No 10 when their pack is getting absolutely gazumped up front.
"If you went on current form and excluded all things that you have seen before then you would go Farrell, Burrell, Daly."
