Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

England explain long-awaited Simmonds recall, first Lynagh call-up

(Photo by Bob Bradford/CameraSport via Getty Images)

Eddie Jones has explained why he has finally chosen Lions back-rower Sam Simmonds in his 45-strong England training squad as well as issuing a first call-up for the uncapped Louis Lynagh. There has been for some time now a public campaign to get Simmonds, the record-breaking Premiership try-scorer, back into England fold for the first time since 2018 while Michael Lynagh, the legendary Wallaby, had questioned earlier this year why the RFU never sounded out his son regarding his future international plans.  

ADVERTISEMENT

England boss Jones steadfastly remained loyal throughout the 2020/21 season to first-choice No8 Billy Vunipola even though he appeared out of form while Simmonds was consistently generating headlines on a weekly basis for the excellence of his performances at Exeter. 

It seems the more there was a clamour for Simmonds to earn a call-up, the more Jones rigidly stuck by Vunipola but that favouritism has now been revoked as the Exeter forward, who was chosen by Warren Gatland to tour with the Lions in South Africa, has been included for next week’s mini-training camp. 

Video Spacer

How the Springboks can bounce back against the All Blacks next weekend

Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 59:53
Loaded: 0%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 59:53
 
1x
    • Chapters
    • descriptions off, selected
    • captions off, selected
    • en (Main), selected
    Video Spacer

    How the Springboks can bounce back against the All Blacks next weekend

    This has come at the expense of Vunipola despite Mark McCall claiming last week that the Saracens player was “as fit as I have seen him” following a busy pre-season on the training ground. 

    Asked by RugbyPass why the time was now right to restore Simmonds to an England squad he has not been involved in for three-and-a-half years, Jones replied: “We asked him to go away and look at his game and he has been progressing well. 

    “He did that last season and therefore he has got an opportunity to put his best foot forward. He has improved parts of his game, particularly how hard he is over the ball. He has improved that aspect of his game and he is also finding the ball a bit more in unstructured play. There has been some nice development in his game.”

    Meanwhile, it was last June, in the wake of Lynagh’s title-winning try-scoring performances with Harlequins, that his father queried what the RFU were up to regarding potential England players as the 20-year-old was eligible for three countries: England through residency, Australia through his famous father and Italy through birth.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Lynagh tweeted: “Qualified for England, Australia and Italy. Italy and Australia have contacted him within the last fortnight. The RFU/England Rugby have NEVER spoken to him about his intentions and goals. Strange, given that the now head of rugby once flew from Italy to ask a 17-year-old to commit to Italy.”

    Some days later, ahead of the Test match versus the USA, Jones dismissively responded to the Lynagh social media post. “I’m not aware of the tweet and I am only here to talk about players who have been selected,” he said. The England coach had a very different stance on Tuesday morning, though, when Lynagh became one of eight uncapped players included in the latest squad. 

    “He has a string of solid performances now. He has got good acceleration, he has got good power, he finds the line, he had got to find the ball a bit more. We chatted about that yesterday [Monday], and he has got youth. He has got that enthusiasm to improve. Based on his performances for Harlequins he deserves to be looked at so we will have a look at him.”

    Jones’ selection, which also saw the omission of Mako Vunipola, George Ford and Jamie George on form, was effectively a line being drawn in the sand two years out from the 2023 World Cup in France, the tournament now hugely colouring the Australian’s thought process. 

    ADVERTISEMENT

    We are building a team towards the World Cup and at a World Cup you want to have a nice balance between experienced players and young, fresh, enthusiastic players who can add to the squad so it is part of the process,” he said.

    “We have got five campaigns to the World Cup and our goal is to win the World Cup. Each campaign we want to get a little bit better and we understand the expectation for England is always to win, so we fully embrace that expectation and that is what we want to do. But at the same time, we have got to have a longer-term view about where we take the team and so we will have both of those in mind.  

    “It’s an exciting time for the squad two years from the next World Cup. Almost after the Lions tour, you draw a bit of a line in the sand because then you are in the last two years before the World Cup and everything you do counts. We have a mini-camp starting on Sunday and it is an opportunity for the 45 selected players to put their best foot forward. 

    “The camp will be more about administration than training but we will get to see where the players are. It’s a nice mix of experienced players and young players and players who did well in the summer and it is a chance for us to build the team for the World Cup so we are all ready to go. New coaching staff, so it’s a good time for the team to start moving forward again.”

     

     

    ADVERTISEMENT

    England A vs Ireland A | Full Match Replay

    HSBC SVNS Vancouver | Men's Day Three Highlights

    HSBC SVNS Vancouver | Women's Day Three Highlights

    "I would love to play with Siya Kolisi" | HSBC Life on Tour | Vancouver

    Kubota Spears vs Shizuoka BlueRevs | JRLO 2024/2025 | Full Match Replay

    Behind the Scenes with the Stars of the Kenya Rugby Sevens Team | HSBC SVNS Embedded | Episode 7

    O2 Inside Line: This Rose | Episode 3 | France Week

    Watch now: Lomu - The Lost Tapes

    Trending on RugbyPass

    Comments

    0 Comments
    Be the first to comment...

    Join free and tell us what you really think!

    Sign up for free
    ADVERTISEMENT

    Latest Features

    Comments on RugbyPass

    A
    AR 1 hour ago
    Crusaders prepare for 'dangerous in all elements' Chiefs game-breaker

    It was one of those casual work Zoom calls where somebody just haphazardly threw in "Asset Rescue Specialist " as if it was part of office gossip. And I was just like, cool, but I'm probably never going to need that. Fast forward a month, and I stared at my computer screen, horrified, having fallen for some fake Ledger update that wiped out my $330,000 wallet. Suddenly, that casual mention was the most important thing I'd ever heard in my life. I was paralyzed with panic. I felt like I'd just lost a small fortune-because I had-and the shame of it all kept me frozen. I was too embarrassed to admit what had happened and way too anxious to even know how to fix it. But then, that Zoom call came to mind. I remembered my colleague's offhand remark about Asset Rescue Specialist and thought, "Why not? What do I have to lose, other than everything? So, I dialed the number, and within seconds, the team was on it. They did not bat an eyelid as I told them my sad tale of wallet disaster. The calm, collected, and-professional-dare I say it-came through the phone so confidently, like I was talking to a group of crypto superheroes-outback, no capes, just serious recovery skills. What followed was an efficient flurry: they worked magic, got back my $330,000, and set me up with all-new security so I don't repeat that whole disaster. They didn't just fix it; they made sure I knew how to secure myself for the future. It was no more 'me', the guy whose definition of "security" includes crossing his fingers and hoping. Now I'm the guy who actually knows the difference between a seed phrase and a shopping list. It's funny, in retrospect: that Zoom call was the plot twist I never saw coming. Who knew a throwaway comment about a recovery service would prove to be my crypto lifeline? If only I'd known that was the important stuff back then! But, you know, better late than never! Thanks to Asset Rescue Specialist, I am back on track-not just regarding crypto investments, but way more security-cautious than I'd ever been before.

    Lesson learned? Never skip those casual mentions of recovery services during work Zoom calls; you never know when you need to call upon them to save you from this or that costly mistake.

    FOR MORE INFO:

    Company: ASSET RESCUE SPECIALIST

    WhatsApp:+ 1 9 0 3 5 5 9 1 7 3 3.

    mail: assetrescuespecialist@qualityservice.com or

    support@assetrescuespecialist.com.

    Website info; https://assetrescuespecialist.com

    1 Go to comments
    b
    bryan li wong 3 hours ago
    Chiefs head coach apologises to midfielder on 50th appearance

    HOW CAN I RECOVER MY LOST CRYPTO (BTC, USDT) investment.

    It's very easy when you contact: Trojanhack@qualityservice.com

    Hi Guys, I'm Bryan Li wong from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ok let me start this way.

    Though At first i was very skeptical when a friend Davies Frank from Chicago Illinois told me about them and how they were able to help him recovered his Crypto Loss during the Covid 19 pandermic.

    I was a victim of a Fake Forex Trading Guru Investment online in 2023 and i was so gullible to get scammed to the tone of 254,650 USDT. i believed them after seeing multiples of their trade result online. little did i know they were all scam and i was so foolish to fell for such stunt. i got depressed and my whole world was shattered as a result of my heavy mistakes.

    I couldnt' withdraw my USDT profit from them. they came up with stories and they kept demanding for more and more from me and it was them i confirmed further they were syndicates.

    it was such a terrible and ugly ordeals i went through.

    After contacting TROJANHACK CYBER SECURITY COMPANY, i experienced a life changing recovery process, they were able to trace and recovered all for me within 4 days.

    Their team are the best and very good at what they do. which if not could have been my life's greatest mishap. I am forever indebted to this reputable company (TROJANHACK CYBER SECURITY COMPANY) and i know there are thousands of people who are undergoing same situation as mine and for that reason i'd be listing their contact details once again which are as follows:

    Email: Trojanhack@qualityservice.com

    Whatsapp: +1 8 0 2 681 3837

    Telegram: @Trojanhackqservice

    1 Go to comments
    D
    Dominique Wilburn 4 hours ago
    Rassie Erasmus names Springboks squad of 56 for March meet-up

    It started with a dream—a dream of financial independence, of escaping the grind and securing a future for my family. Like many others, I was drawn to the world of cryptocurrency. The stories of people striking it rich with Bitcoin were everywhere, and I thought, why not me? That’s when I stumbled upon an online investment platform promising astronomical returns. I invested a substantial amount of my savings, believing I was on the path to financial freedom.But within weeks, everything fell apart. The platform vanished overnight. Emails bounced back, phone numbers were disconnected, and my funds were gone. I felt like I had been hit by a truck. The weight of my mistake was crushing I had not only lost my savings but also jeopardized my family’s future. I was drowning in guilt, anger, and despair, unsure of where to turn.That’s when I found Washington Recovery Pro. At first, I was skeptical. How could anyone recover money from anonymous Bitcoin scammers? But I was desperate, and I decided to give them a shot,from the moment I reached out, Washington Recovery Pro was different. They listened to my story with genuine empathy and assured me that they had helped countless others in my situation.They specialized in tracing cryptocurrency transactions, uncovering the identities of scammers, and working with international authorities to recover stolen funds. Their transparency gave me hope. Finally, the breakthrough came. They had traced my funds to a series of wallets and identified the individuals behind the scam. Through their network of legal and law enforcement partners, they initiated a recovery process.The day I received the news that a significant portion of my funds had been recovered was one of the happiest of my life. Washington Recovery Pro had not only given me back my money but also restored my faith in justice.Reach out to them Via..

     Email~WashingtonRecoveryPro@engineer.com WhatsApp ~‪+1 (903) 249‑8633‬ Telegram ~https://t.me/Washingtonrecoverypro

    4 Go to comments
    LONG READ
    LONG READ Beaten but unbowed, Welsh rugby shows a defiance that suggest brighter times lie ahead Beaten but unbowed, Welsh rugby shows a defiance that suggest brighter times lie ahead
    Search