Awkward questions for Eddie to ponder around World Cup

NICK CAIN’S welljudged assessment of England’s present position in last Sunday’s

TRP was welcome. Any judgement of where England are a year and a half from the World Cup throws up some awkward questions.

1. Jones has consistently selected the same two scrumhalves, neither of whom would make a best-in-Europe team. He claims to want at least three players competing for every position. Who is the third?

2. It seems increasingly clear George Ford only performs well behind a dominant pack. His repeated selection has a knockon effect on the rest of the three-quarter line, and may be the main reason why it is still very difficult to identify Jones’ preferred midfield partnership.

3. Equally hard to work out is his preferred back row combination. Without Billy Vunipola it appears very vulnerable, and the most consistently effective performer in the Premiership (Don Armand) cannot even get into an injury-hit squad.

4. The final issue, which is now moving from farce to tragedy, is the captaincy. Great player though he has been, Dylan Hartley’s form does not warrant a place even in the squad. It seems he is being picked simply to be the captain. If this is the case, then Jones is using completely different standards to those that apply to the rest of the team.

At present, England are unlikely to win the World Cup. They are also unlikely to win the Six Nations. They look as if they have peaked too soon.

PETE BUNTEN Cambridgeshire