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An alternate England XV made up of players out of favour with Eddie

Joe Cokanasiga and Sam Simmonds /Getty

Eddie Jones’ England squad never fails to leave sections of the public scratching their heads over players who have missed out.

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The squad for the upcoming Guinness Six Nations is no different, and though the addition of a shadow squad has meant 40 players have been called up, there are still some unfortunate players who many feel are worthy of a place.

Be it due to injury, ruling themselves out, or simply having a face that does not fit at this moment in time, this is an alternative England XV:

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The dark side of Galthie…

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The dark side of Galthie…

1 Joe Marler
Harlequins’ Joe Marler was originally in the squad but pulled out this week for personal reasons, providing an opportunity for Tom West in the 28-man squad and Alex Hepburn in the shadow squad.

2 Jack Singleton
A member of England’s World Cup squad, Gloucester’s Jack Singleton has not won a cap since their exploits in Japan, being usurped by Tom Dunn in the hooking pecking order.

3 Kyle Sinckler
While it is expected that the 43-cap Kyle Sinckler will rejoin the squad once the ban for his foul-mouthed outburst is over, he still is not technically part of the squad.

4 George Kruis
Currently plying his trade in Japan with Panasonic Wild Knights, former Saracens lock George Kruis has outlined his ambition to return to the England set-up.

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5 Nick Isiekwe
Northampton Saints are reaping the benefits of Nick Isiekwe’s season-long loan from Saracens. Like Bristol Bears’ Ben Earl and Max Malins he would have opted to stay in the Gallagher Premiership in order to boost his chances of England selection, but has not earned a cap since June 2018.

6 Ted Hill
Worcester Warriors’ 21-year-old captain Ted Hill is clearly a player Jones has earmarked for the future, and offers a huge amount in the No6 shirt, but he has not yet been able to make the step up from being a prospect.

Ted Hill Worcester
Ted Hill training with England. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

7 Sam Simmonds
Probably the absentee that puzzles English fans the most, the European player of the year Sam Simmonds cannot work his way back into Jones’ squad. Playing primarily at No8 at Sandy Park may be a reason for this, as he may not provide the bulk that is desired.

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8 Alex Dombrandt
A player that does provide the weight at the back of the scrum that Jones wants to see is Harlequins’ Alex Dombrandt, but the 23-year-old has not been able to convince the Australian.

9 Ben Spencer
The outcry over Ben Spencer’s omission is not as strong as it was in the autumn following a superb denouement to the 2019/20 season with Bath, but he is still a player that has struggled to break into the squad.

10 Joe Simmonds
Exeter’s double-winning captain in 2020 and man of the match in the Heineken Champions Cup final, Joe Simmonds presents a compelling case to earn international honours, but is still an outcast.
Harlequins’ Marcus Smith has also been overlooked for the Six Nations having been on the periphery for the last three years.

Exeter <a href=
Glasgow Champions Cup” width=”1200″ height=”675″ /> (Photo by INPHO via EPCR)

11 Joe Cokanasiga
Following a 11-month layoff in 2020 with a knee injury, Bath’s towering winger Joe Cokanasiga is still working his way back to his best form.

12 Piers Francis
In an area where England have plenty of options, Piers Francis has been called upon in the past by Jones to play at No12, but has not been capped since the World Cup.
Ollie Devoto meanwhile earned his first cap in four years in the 2020 Six Nations, but has fallen out of favour again.

England Francis <a href=
Sale Northampton” width=”1920″ height=”1080″ /> (Photo by Lynne Cameron/Getty Images)

13 Ollie Devoto
Sale Sharks’ Manu Tuilagi leaves a gaping hole in the England backline, as the 29-year-old is still out with an achilles injury. But there is a wealth of players across England who still cannot make the squad. Ollie Devoto is one who earned his first cap in four years in the 2020 Six Nations, but has fallen out of favour again.

14 Ollie Thorley
Having earned his first cap in the autumn, Ollie Thorley has seen the hysteria around his name abate over the winter, which may be partly due to Gloucester’s faltering start to their season.

England Jones Six Nations bench
(Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

15 Alex Goode
Having previously won the European player of the year, Alex Goode was the Sam Simmonds of 2019 and simply could not break into the national squad. He is now out of contention after signing for NEC Green Rockets in Japan

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J
JW 2 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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