England’s grim Barbarians loss and Dad’s Army platoon raise big questions

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This was meant to be the week when English rugby union shifted the narrative. For all involved – players, coaches, even the media – the upcoming tour of Australia has been shimmering on the horizon like an oasis in the outback, offering a chance to look forward rather than endlessly back. It was also a prime opportunity to select a few fresh players with one eye on the Rugby World Cup next year.

Then what happens? On the eve of the squad announcement an England XV go down like a sack of misshapen spuds against a 14-man Barbarians side.

And Eddie Jones reverts to three former stalwarts whom he has been studiously ignoring for ages. Congratulations to Billy and Mako Vunipola and Danny Care but what do their blast-from-the-past recalls say about the consistency of England’s recent selectorial thinking? Of course there are short-term imperatives, with Alex Dombrandt damaging a knee on Friday, Joe Marler omitted and Ben Youngs rested. Maybe the return of the Vunipolas and Care is the smart way ahead, even though they will collectively be 98 by the time the World Cup kicks off. But, if so, the logic in none of them playing a solitary England Test in the past 15 months is mighty hard to discern.

There is an argument that all three should never have been jettisoned in the first place, with Care having been cast out as long ago as November 2018. Age is only a number if people are performing well enough. But yet again the messaging is mixed. It also does not say much for Jones’s faith in those overlooked in favour of his redeployed