Revealed: The vast number of England players capped by Eddie Jones as Joe Cokanasiga and Ted Hill prepare for debuts against Japan
Joe Cokanasiga and Ted Hill are set to make their England debuts against Japan on Saturday, taking the number of players capped during Eddie Jones’s three-year tenure to 66.
Bath wing Cokanasiga, 21, has been named in a starting XV that features 11 changes to the side that narrowly lost to New Zealand last week, while 19-year-old Worcester back-row Hill is on the bench.
Injuries have repeatedly forced the head coach to rotate his squad but Jones has also continually tinkered with the line-up since England’s opening Six Nations Grand Slam in 2016.
George Ford is the most-capped player of the Jones era and he returns to the XV as captain against Japan at Twickenham. The Leicester fly-half has been involved in 32 of Jones’s 33 matches to date, only failing to feature during the summer’s third and final Test in South Africa.
Harlequins’ Danny Care, who will start at scrum-half for the first time this autumn, is due to win his 31st cap of Jones’s reign, making him the second most used player under the Australian.
Regular co-captains Owen Farrell and Dylan Hartley are among the replacements and set to for their 29th and 30th appearances under Jones.
Elliot Daly of Wasps is in line for his 24th England outing – all made under Jones – at full-back, while Exeter’s Jack Nowell, selected at centre alongside Alex Lozowski of Saracens, is poised for his 19th.
Wing Chris Ashton, who marked his return to the side after a four-year exile and a first appearance under Jones with a try against the All Blacks, has been named to start again.
Having relied on the likes of Dan Cole, Joe Marler and James Haskell initially, Jones is now looking to younger forwards as he prepares for next year’s World Cup.
Exeter pair Alec Hepburn, 25, and Harry Williams, 27, will pack down either side of Jamie George in the front row for their fifth and 14th caps under Jones, with Kyle Sinckler, 25, of Quins among the replacements.
Bath back-row Zach Mercer is set for his second cap, while club colleague Charlie Ewels, 23, and vice-captain Maro Itoje, 24, form a youthful second row and will win their ninth and 25th caps.
Player | Caps under Eddie Jones |
George Ford | 32 |
Danny Care | 30 |
Mike Brown | 29 |
Dylan Hartley | 29 |
Owen Farrell | 28 |