Eddie Jones has named his England squad to play in the Old Mutual Wealth Cup against the Barbarians at Twickenham on Sunday.
The inexperienced starting XV features eight uncapped players: Jack Singleton (Worcester Warriors), Will Collier (Harlequins), Nick Isiekwe (Saracens), Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby), Alex Lozowski (Saracens), Sam James (Sale Sharks), and Nathan Earle (Saracens). A further seven uncapped players sit on the bench.
Chris Robshaw and George Ford will co-captain the side in this uncapped match.
Eddie Jones said: “While we have some really experienced players starting the game there is a great opportunity for some of the younger players to show what they are about against a Barbarians team full of quality international players.
“We will be treating this game as a Test match and expecting the Barbarians to start the game quickly. This match will be crucial preparation ahead of our two-Test series against Argentina next month.
“I’ve decided to have co-captains this weekend with Chris Robshaw and George Ford. We need the responsibility of leadership shared. Chris will look after the forwards and defence while George will look after the backs and attack. It splits the responsibility nicely and with so many younger players there we need co-captains rather than just one guy responsible for everything.”
England team to face the Barbarians:
15. Mike Brown (Harlequins, 60 caps)
14. Nathan Earle (Saracens, uncapped)
13. Sam James (Sale Sharks, uncapped)
12. Alex Lozowski (Saracens, uncapped)
11. Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, 25 caps)
10. George Ford (Bath Rugby, 35 caps)
9. Danny Care (Harlequins, 71 caps)
1. Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 1 cap)
2. Jack Singleton (Worcester Warriors, uncapped)
3. Will Collier (Harlequins, uncapped)
4. Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 3 caps)
5. Nick Isiekwe (Saracens, uncapped)
6. Chris Robshaw (Harlequins, 55 caps)
7. Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, uncapped)
8. Josh Beaumont (Sale Sharks, uncapped)
16. George McGuigan (Leicester Tigers, uncapped)
17. Ross Harrison (Sale Sharks, uncapped)
18. Jamal Ford-Robinson (Bristol Rugby, uncapped)
19. Tom Ellis (Bath Rugby, uncapped)
20. Ben Curry (Sale Sharks, uncapped)
21. Mark Wilson (Newcastle Falcons, uncapped)
22. Richard Wigglesworth (Saracens, 27 caps)
23. Mike Haley (Sale Sharks, uncapped)
What do you think of the team?
Swap Brown for Goode and I’d be very happy
Goode is playing for Barbarians
Perhaps he could swap teams @ 1/2 time!?
I know!
I’d prefer it to be other way round.
Goode has shown time and again that he can’t cut it at international level. Better to have Brown in there for now and start developing Haley.
Time and again? Hardly. He’s had what 2 or 3 starts over the last two seasons when his club form has been probably the best 15 in Europe.
Interesting.
Rather that stating the number of caps attained, it would be fascinating to see how many senior games of rugby they have behind them!
Ask and you shall receive. I have only counted ‘top flight’ matches – i.e. no loan appearances in the championship, A-side games or England U18/U20 caps. (For the uncapped players only).
14. Nathan Earle – 9 senior appearances
13. Sam James – 52
12. Alex Lozowski – 80
2. Jack Singleton – 17
3. Will Collier – 71
5. Nick Isiekwe – 2
7. Sam Underhill – 31
8. Josh Beaumont – 61
16. George McGuigan – 67
17. Ross Harrison – 145
18. Jamal Ford-Robinson – 36 (2 premiership)
19. Tom Ellis – 28
20. Ben Curry – 15
21. Mark Wilson – 113
23. Mike Haley – 72
By way of comparison, Robshaw has made 262 for England and Quins.
This was a bit of a challenge as some of these players are so new they don’t have a lot of info on them! Ford-Robinson for example has only played 2 premiership matches but had 34 in the championship for Bristol, but I counted the championship games for him as that wasn’t a loan. And LV cup games are included for some, but not others… But think this is broadly accurate.
Good work Henry!
Surprised to see that Lozowski has so many…
Whoops – I accidentally included Lozowski’s 26 appearances for Leeds! Should only be 54… Well spotted
Strongest team he could pick based on who is available. I really like the back line, especially Lozowski at 12 – I think his future could be there. He is obviously a great playmaker but he also hits like a train in defense!
Isiekwe and Underhill are the two I’m keen to see in the pack – both could end up with a lot of England caps!
I really hope Eddie lets them play and really enjoy themselves. This is a very exciting looking team. Some hungry young guys in this 23 and some very good experience heads as well.
One of the most mobile packs I’ve seen for England. Ewels and Isiekwe should be a very strong partnership, and looking forward to see if Ford/Loz can be as good as Ford/Faz?
If he unleashes his back line & gets it playing like he did with Japan v SA, then they’ll likely enjoy it alright as they’ll probably produce a few tries. Still needs to up the tempo & get his inside backs to straighten attacks so the wingers have more room. Also some variety, like blind side wings, f/back entering the line, wrap arounds, passing to f/back running directly fwd & behind a mid fielder?
A decent side who I suspect are really going to get tested by the Barbarians who have got one of the stronger sides I’ve seen from them. I would have rather seen Will Spencer in the starting 15. Shame he is injured.
BARBARIANS (v England, Twickenham Stadium, May 28, 3pm)
15 Alex Goode (Saracens & England) 21 caps
14 Timoci Nagusa (Montpellier & Fiji) 24
13 Yann David (Toulouse & France) 4
12 Frans Steyn (Montpellier & South Africa) 53
11 Adam Ashley-Cooper (Bordeaux-Begles & Australia) 116
10 Ian Madigan (Bordeaux-Begles & Ireland) 30
9 Kahn Fotuali’i (Bath Rugby & Samoa) 31
1 Mikheil Nariashvili (Montpellier & Georgia) 41
2 Richard Hibbard (Gloucester & Wales) 41
3 Census Johnston (Toulouse & Samoa) 59
4 Patricio Albacete (Toulouse & Argentina) 57
5 Jeremy Thrush (Gloucester & New Zealand)12
6 Thierry Dusautoir (Toulouse & France, captain) 80
7 Steffon Armitage (Pau & England) 5
8 Facundo Isa (Lyon & Argentina) 25
Replacements
16 Schalk Brits (Saracens & South Africa) 10
17 Ben Franks (London Irish & New Zealand) 47
18 WP Nel (Edinburgh & Scotland) 15
19 Joe Tekori (Toulouse & Samoa) 34
20 Gillian Galan (Toulouse)
21 Ruan Pienaar (Ulster & South Africa) 88
22 Robbie Fruean (Bath Rugby)
23 Horacio Agulla (Castres & Argentina) 63
Do think the Baa Baas will win though? They may be a ‘decent side’ & I don’t know enough about all of their picks, but some of their pack esp may be a bit long in the tooth & start to blow a bit before closing time?
That is a fearsome Barbarians team! Stars all over the place, but the pack (and the back row in particular) is a massively experienced and talented one. Think that will be the difference against the raw England pack. I fancy the Baabaas for the win.
Definitely interesting to see Goode at fullback… Also WP Nel on the bench – will want to show he is ready for a Lions place if there are any injuries.
I think the Barbarians will win. Their pack looks immense and I can’t see England getting much headway against it at all. It will be a great way to see what potential the new guys have though. I’m really looking forward to this one.
Back line has exp, but also a lack of in mid field/ wing. Pack is mostly untried, so may be interesting to see how they go v a ‘mature’ Barbarians side. I believe that Eddie expects a win though, otherwise he might have inserted a few more vets up front.
Thats an awful England team. 3rd choice bar 3 starting XV. Barbarians to win.
Awful, Fred?
Are you sure that’s the right adjective? If so, by what measure, and how could it have been less awful?