England
RFU rules prevent Eddie Jones from making wholesale changes to England squad
ESPN Staff
December 1, 2015
Eddie Jones, the new England Rugby head coach
Eddie Jones, the new England Rugby head coach© David Rogers/Getty Images

England's new head coach Eddie Jones begins work on December 1 but will be hamstrung by the RFU's agreement with the clubs which permits him to make a maximum of 11 changes to the squad ahead of the Six Nations.

The current elite player squad agreement allows the England head coach to make 10 changes from one EPS to another. Sam Burgess' return to rugby league frees up another spot but Jones will have to assess a larger squad than the 31-man party which was picked for the Rugby World Cup as Calum Clark and Luther Burrell were included as the two standby options meaning Jones can change just a third of the 33-man England group as it stands.

Given the lack of time Jones has to assess English rugby -- there are just 68 days until the start of the Six Nations and Jones has to name his EPS in January -- he was always unlikely to make wholesale changes to the mix of the squad. Jones also has to name a Saxons squad despite England's second-string not having any fixtures teed up.

In Worcester Warriors' boss Dean Ryan's mind, wholesale changes to England's EPS are not needed but they need to tweak their game plan. Writing in his column for the Guardian, Ryan said: "He has to name his EPS on January 6 so he has about a month to get up to speed with England's best talent, but I think the task is straightforward as there is no obvious need to change even 10 of them.

"Lancaster's squad selection was not the problem: game selection was his weakness. I don't think there is a pundit in the world who was massively away from his World Cup selection."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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