Chastening afternoon for Jones as England hit by eight-try Barbarians

Whatever Eddie Jones had in mind for this fixture, watching George Kruis, the former England lock, backheeling a conversion through the posts in the final few minutes of an emphatic victory for the invitational side was probably not it.

For all the players absent, for all the excuses that could be made, this was without question a chastening afternoon for Jones, the biggest margin of defeat under his tenure and a humiliating one for England that raises huge concerns over the forthcoming tour of Australia.

The Barbarians hit 50 points and scored eight tries, two of which came from the excellent Damian Penaud. They were leading by three points towards the end of the first half when Will Skelton became the first player in Barbarians history to be sent off, yet they still finished with a winning margin of 31.

England, on the other hand, were woeful but for the efforts of Marcus Smith who shimmered in glimpses with the ball in hand but struggled from the tee. They simply could not get going in attack, were lacklustre in defence and their set piece needs plenty of work.

It was, in short, a disastrous day for Jones and perhaps the most worrying aspect is how they capitulated in the closing stages, conceding four tries in the final 15 minutes.

It was not a fixture granted Test status but this defeat comes on the back of Six Nations defeats by Ireland and France and makes a three‑Test series against the improving Wallabies all the more ominous.

Jones names his squad for the tour of Australia on Monday morning and all that could be said of this showing on Sunday is that a number of this side may have played their way off the plane. Compounding matters, Alex Dombrandt withdrew from the side with a knee injury and was wearing a knee