Out in the cold: George Ford did not earn an England recall despite his impressive form for Leicester Tigers
(Picture: Getty Images)England boss Eddie Jones has challenged George Ford and the Vunipola brothers to make him look like “an idiot” after omitting them from his initial Six Nations squad.
The experienced trio were left out of the 36-man squad, who will meet in Brighton on Monday ahead of a five-day training camp.
England then kick off their Six Nations campaign against Scotland the following week, with Jones able to tweak his squad for each match during the tournament.
Ford and the Vunipola brothers, Billy and Mako, are three high-profile absentees after also being left out of the England squad for the Autumn Internationals.
Jones has instead turned to the likes of uncapped Bath fly-half Orlando Bailey and fellow rookies Alfie Barbeary and Ollie Chessum.
But asked if the message was that the likes of Ford and the Vunipola brothers could still make the World Cup squad next year and the door wasn’t closed, Jones said: “100 per cent.
“They’ve all got areas they need to work on in their games to come back into the team. And they have got to play at a level where it makes me an idiot if I don’t pick them.
“They have all been under consideration and all have either aspects of their game to look at or fitness areas to improve. They have all been spoken to individually.”
Bath flanker Sam Underhill and Saracens full-back Elliot Daly were also notable absentees, but Jones said they are not quite fit enough to be included yet.
“Sam is not quite ready,” he explained. “He has had a fairly truncated period since the autumn, but we are hopeful that he will get himself fit and match-ready for later in the tournament.
“Elliot is a bit the same. He hasn’t played a lot of rugby and needs to get some good match fitness and some good match form behind him.”
The same applies to centre Manu Tuilagi, but Jones is less optimistic he could play some part in the Six Nations.
“He has had a wee setback, but we will just have to wait and see where he is up to,” said Jones. “He will need to get some good training, need to play a few games. But, if we were 100 per cent optimistic, we would say: ‘Yes’.
“But if we are realistic, it’s probably about 50/50 [Tuilagi playing in the Six Nations].”
Owen Farrell will captain the side during the Six Nations, with the Saracens star hoping to play for the first time since November this weekend against London Irish.
“He has the respect of the team, he’s a winner, he drives the competitive spirit of the team and he’s right the man to lead the team,” said Jones.
