Jones keeps players guessing

Eddie Jones is making use of baseball tactics in the selection of his England team, citing the importance of the 'finishers'.

England have made a winning start to the Six Nations, beating Scotland and Italy on back-to-back weekends, with Jones making three tactical changes from one game to the other.

'One starts and one finishes. It's whatever suits our game plan that decides who starts and who finishes,' Jones said. 'In baseball, if you're a good finisher you get paid a lot of money. In rugby, it's seen as a second choice – but in our eyes it's not a second choice.'

If Jones decides that a player does not have the right skills for a particular game, he will be dropped, regardless of current performance. 

This past weekend, scrumhalf Danny Care was brought on as a substitute with a specific role to play against Italy in Rome, having started against Scotland the week before.

'Whoever is on the bench is still a very good player and when they come on they're looking to further what the guy has done before them and try to kill the game off,' Care said after the game. 'The lads who start the game do the real hard stuff and whoever comes off the bench gets to finish it off.'

Jones will be looking to continue this selection technique throughout the competition, changing the team as necessary for each match. 

Photo: Andrew Redington/Getty Images

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