England’s looseheads are world class – but why ignore Vunipola?

⮞ Mako is in elite group with Genge and Marler, so Jones’ decision to call up Elrington is just baffling

When picking his England squad, Eddie Jones is often damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t. We asked for years why he was not picking the youngsters, but now he is picking them, we question the omissions. What do we actually want? Do we want the national side to develop, or do we want it to win every game and reach the World Cup with a cohort of 100-cap players?

There is no right or wrong answer, only winning or losing.

Eddie clearly has one eye on post-2023, for after his tenure. He is developing youth – Bevan Rodd, Jamie Blamire, Raffi Quirke and Freddie Steward, among others – and he deserves credit. But can I get my head around calling up Harry Elrington, released by London Irish over the summer, instead of British and Irish Lion Mako Vunipola at loosehead? Not at all. No disrespect to Elrington, but I cannot understand it. His selection cannot be classed as a development opportunity; Elrington is just three years younger than Mako.

I cannot fathom it. Mako has been one of the first names on the team-sheet for the last four or five years – he has more than 60 caps for England. He has always been ahead of both Ellis Genge and Joe Marler, let alone Rodd and Elrington. He must be thinking: “What have I done?” Playing for England is not the be-all and end-all, and if I were Mako, I would not necessarily pack my bags and head to France. Could he go and get big bucks across the Channel? Maybe, if that is what drives him, but he might think he could fight his way back in ahead of the 2023 World Cup.

Or, if World Rugby changes the eligibility laws, why would he not go and play for Tonga alongside his brother, Billy? He would have had a fantastic top-tier international career, and then he could go back and help another nation to develop.

Perhaps Eddie is trying to move on. Clive Woodward always used to drop the lowest five per cent of his squad every season, just to keep it fresh. Of course, every time Clive did not pick me, he got it wrong, the most memorable occasion being Ireland away in 2001’s foot-and-mouth game, just after the Lions tour. That year, almost every time I touched the ball, I scored. Then, sure enough, Clive left me on the bench in the 20-14 loss in Dublin, but when I came on I scored England’s only try with my first touch. At the end of the game, he told me he would never make the mistake of dropping me again, and then he left me out of the World Cup squad!

Perhaps Eddie knows that when he has a fully-fit Genge and Marler, Mako is not in his best 23. Genge has progressed enormously over the past 12 months; his energy has always been there, but it is his shift in mentality that has been stark. The same could be said of Marler. England have three looseheads who are arguably the three best in the world. Other countries might ask: “Are you mad?” But I think they are right up there – all three of them are world class, and it is rare for one country to have that.

Marler has been immense in the past two years. He is the best scrummager of the trio. Around the field, the other two might be marginally ahead but, defensively, he is remarkably astute and he makes big tackles. That tackle in

If the eligibility laws are changed, why would he not go and play for Tonga with his brother Billy?

last season’s Premiership final against Exeter springs to mind; it basically turned the match. He is involved in game-defining moments and has such positive energy. But all three of them possess positivity, in different ways. Mako’s is more “do as I do, not as I say”, while Genge is just a bubbling bulldog. I would have all three in my team if I could make room. I am not sure Eddie could have started Marler tomorrow. He will not have had enough line-out and team training, so Rodd has to start. We know how crucial the line-out is against the Springboks.

It might seem odd for an ex-scrum-half/fly-half/wing to be writing on loosehead props, but it is indicative of some of the selection problems facing Eddie. This is a by-product of the Premiership increasing in standard, with the players getting better. Regardless of the Premiership’s pomp, however, Mako has still got it.