'Meeting one, minute one, Eddie said 'you can call it what you like, but this is a Test match'

Eddie Jones has warned his England A players to prepare for a full-on Test match against Scotland A in Leicester on Sunday.

England’s second-string A team will host their Scottish counterparts at Mattioli Woods Welford Road this weekend, in a non-cap international encounter.

Assistant coach John Mitchell has stepped up to be head coach of the A side, but will take a “collaborative” approach with England boss Jones this weekend.

Maro Itoje | All Access | Episode 2 – What is it like playing for Saracens rugby club?

Video Player is loading.

Play Video

PauseSkip BackwardSkip Forward

Unmute

Current Time 0:00

/

Duration 0:00

Loaded: 0%

0:00

Stream Type LIVE

Seek to live, currently behind liveLIVE

Remaining Time -0:00

 

1x

Playback Rate

Chapters

• Chapters

Descriptions

• descriptions off, selected

Captions

• captions settings, opens captions settings dialog
• captions off, selected

Audio Track

Fullscreen

This is a modal window.

Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.

Text

ColorWhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityOpaqueSemi-Transparent

Text Background

ColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityOpaqueSemi-TransparentTransparent

Caption Area Background

ColorBlackWhiteRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyanOpacityTransparentSemi-TransparentOpaque

Font Size

50%75%100%125%150%175%200%300%400%

Text Edge Style

NoneRaisedDepressedUniformDrop shadow

Font Family

Proportional Sans-SerifMonospace Sans-SerifProportional SerifMonospace SerifCasualScriptSmall Caps

ResetDone

Close Modal Dialog

End of dialog window.

Close Modal Dialog

This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.

Maro Itoje | All Access | Episode 2 – What is it like playing for Saracens rugby club?

Jim Hamilton sits down with Vitality ambassador and former teammate Maro Itoje before he jets off to South Africa for the British & Irish Lions Series.
The Saracens lock told us all about Saracens rugby club and the defining effect it has had on his rugby career.

England will move straight from Sunday’s Leicester clash into full Test weeks for matches against the USA and Canada, and Jones is determined the A fixture will not result in a drop in standards or expectations.

Charlie Ewels is the second most experienced starter with 21 senior caps, and the Bath lock revealed Jones has left no one under any misapprehensions about the demands this week.

“Day one, meeting one, minute one, Eddie said ‘you can call it what you like, but this is a Test match and we’re preparing for a Test match’,” said Ewels.

“So it won’t be capped and not everybody is available for selection.

“But beyond that it’s felt like any other Test week I’ve been involved in.”

The British and Irish Lions’ South Africa tour affords England the chance to dig down into the depth chart with one eye on the World Cup in 2023.

While senior pros like Ewels and 28-cap vice captain Ellis Genge will be looking to prove points and push back up the pecking order, England will also field 11 uncapped players in the east Midlands.

Ewels insisted only the coaches will be looking at Sunday’s game through the prism of the 2023 World Cup though, however big the opportunity to impress.

“The coaches will have long-term plans of course, but as a player, the way the environment we’re in and the way we train, you never look beyond that day’s training,” said Ewels.

“So I can pretty safely say no player will be sat here this week thinking about 2023, they will just be over the moon to have the opportunity to play.

“They will be asking Eddie ‘what do you want to see from me, how do you want me to train and what do I need to do to get into the team?’

“It’s hugely exciting there are plenty of guys here with new ideas, fresh energy, and there are also guys who have been here before.”