Jones to be ruthless with first Eng squad

Eddie Jones has insisted anyone overlooked for England’s Six Nations squad “hasn’t done well enough”.

England’s new head coach will name his first Elite Player Squad (EPS) on Wednesday, and has vowed to “increase the tempo” and not rely on suffocating opponents.

Jones confirmed his coaching staff recruitment is complete for the Six Nations, declaring “ultimately we want to be the most dominant team in the world”.

“It puts no pressure on me: the pressure’s on the player,” Jones told RFU.com of scrutiny over his selection choices.

“The player that hasn’t been selected hasn’t done well enough, it’s as simple as that. So all the pressure is on the player.

“I accept that there will be criticism of the squad and I accept that people will think other players should be in.

“Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, but at the end of the day the players select themselves.

“Ultimately we want to be the most dominant team in the world, but to start with we’ve got to beat Scotland. That’s the most important thing.”

Jones confirmed he will handle England’s attacking game during the Six Nations rather than draft in a backs specialist, having opted not to pursue Northampton’s Alex King.

“We’re all done and dusted mate,” said Jones of his back-room recruitment.

“We’ve got Steve Borthwick looking after set-piece with Ian Peel assisting, Gussy (Paul Gustard) looking after defence and I’m going to handle the attack so we don’t need anything else at this stage.

“We’ve got to get the basis of the game right, nothing goes away from the meat and potatoes of the game.”

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