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 England, for all the excuses that could be made, this was without question a chastening afternoon for Jones and one that will not be ignored in Australia.

The Barbarians hit 50 points and scored eight tries. They were leading by three points when Will Skelton became the first player in Barbarians history to be sent off and finished with a winning margin of 31.

Related: England 21-52 Barbarians: rugby union – live!

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.

Jones names his squad for the tour of Australia on Monday morning and all you can say of this showing on Sunday is that a number of this side may have played their way off the plane. Compounding matters, Alex Dombrandt had to withdraw from the side with a knee injury which makes him a doubt for the tour and Joe Cokanasiga limped off here after repeated attention from the medical staff.

The Barbarians gave a clear message of their intent when winning a scrum penalty inside the opening few minutes and opting to kick for goal. Antoine Hastoy missed the kick but evidently Fabien Galthié, with France’s forthcoming tour in mind, had not instructed his players to attempt exhibition rugby from the word go. The crowd were not happy but as the match progressed the Barbarians were entertaining and