Lions will be rested in Autumn says Jones

ENGLAND coach Eddie Jones believes the drawn Lions series has exposed concerns over the All Blacks’ depth in specific positions.

New Zealand remain the No.1 side in the world but Jones said: “It showed that New Zealand are probably struggling in depth a little bit in some positions, which hasn’t been the case for a long time.”

With 16 of his England players on the Lions tour Jones used the two-Test series against Argentina to build depth with one eye on the 2019 tournament.

He warned beforehand that pressure would be on his players in the Lions squad to hold their spots and after seeing his young guns shine in South America he has tough decisions to make.

He added: “We looked at those Tests in Argentina very seriously, as we did the Lions Tests.

“Some players promoted themselves. Some players demoted themselves. That will come out in the wash.”

Jones says he will rest some of his stars in the Autumn series against Australia, Argentina and Samoa, adding: “We will look at those Tests as a continuation of the June series. A number of the Lions guys we probably won’t play. We’ll give them reconditioning periods to get right for the World Cup.”