Call to make England pack ‘all English’

No room for Kiwi Brad Shields in an England Six Nations pack that needs to be ‘‘the full English — bangers and mashers, with the opposition on toast’’.

That’s the view of rugby critic Stephen Jones who has urged coach Eddie Jones to be bold in a fresh squad to be selected on Friday.

He didn’t mention Shields by name but the inference was there as he questioned the efficiency of the recent England teams ‘‘partly because of injury, partly because of the lack of forward power and leadership, and partly because of what are seen as Eddie-isms.

‘‘These include the selection of red-raw tyros; of those who have come, say, 12,000 miles to be with us so we’d better choose them.’’

That can only be seen as a taunt at the selection of Shields, who coach Jones rushed into the English set-up without even playing a game in the English Premiership last year. Shields was plucked from the Hurricanes to make his England debut against the Springboks in South Africa in June and has gone on to play five tests to press his claims for World Cup duties later this year. But there is a call for a fresh rethink as the World Cup looms and England desperate for some Six Nations success after last year’s horror tournament where they slipped to fifth in the defence of their title.