With Autumn internationals announced, it is time to look toward a return to international rugby. After the Lions tour is decided, over October and November, the rugby world will begin to take shape ahead of the 2023 world cup. A premiership season of the highest calibre, combined with an interesting pair of summer internationals, has left the English team with a variety of options and opportunities. The potential for personnel changes is almost limitless. So how much will Jones change? Which players will he cling on to and which will he, or should he, put out to pasture?

Freddie Steward

The man behind much of Leicester’s resurgence over recent months. Steward is no longer a full back prospect for the future, but a fully-fledged player for the here and now. Competition over the 15 shirt between him and Max Malins will be stiff, but Steward has the stature and ability under the highball to make him a truly world class player. He plays with a maturity that has been fostered under the group of old heads at Leicester. There is a smoothness to his play that few can match, and having such a classy operator at the back of the team could be a real boon in 2023. 

Max Malins

The back three has a rich future in England and none emphasise this more than Max Malins. His time with Bristol has shown just how great an attacking threat he can be. His recent stint with England showed his quality as a defensive player and operator in the kicking game. With players like Malins and Steward inevitably competing for a single shirt, it could come down to form at the time. Having these two available however will sure up a position that has been a problem for England since the departure of Mike Brown.

Joe Cokanasiga

With 11 caps under his belt already, he’s not really the new kid on the block, but he simply must be in the autumn international squad. Whether that requires resting players like Watson or not.  Cokanasiga has elite size and freakish finishing ability for a 112kg winger. He has pulled off some outrageous scores in the premiership for Bath and was dominant in England’s two summer games. His work under the high ball is improving rapidly and with the impact Duhan Van De Merwe has had on tour in South Africa, the value of a bulldozer winger is going up rapidly. 

Harry Randall

Not exactly an insightful pick, but it still has to be made. Randall is the second coming of Danny Care, only he has dialled back the erratic play by the 20% needed to make him a possibly world class player at 9. His box kicking could do with some improvement. It was an element of Randall’s game that sometimes saw Andy Uren, another exceptional scrum-half, start over him at Bristol this season. Aside from this, Randall is an outstanding attacking player with pace and flair to match anyone in the world. 

Jack Kenningham

Kenningham replaced Will Evans about two thirds of the way into the season, the 21 year old picked up where the premiership turnover king left off. He’s long and athletic, able to cover ground better than almost any back row in the Premiership.  He put worries about his physicality to bed early, and has clearly been taking pointers on support running from his teammate Dombrandt. Elite breakdown skills and an industrious attitude, Kenningham has the makings of an excellent out and out 7 option for England. 

Will Evans

If his teammate Kenningham is elite at the breakdown, Evans is world class. With 29 turnovers in just 14 appearances, 12 more than his closest competitor. Evans is simply the best player at the breakdown in England. Injury side-lined him from the summer tests, but if he proves his fitness he will be a lethal weapon for England in upcoming international fixtures. Evans may well grow to be a game changer in 2023 again offering that pure 7 that England so often lack.

Richard Capstick

Another back rower, although Capstick brings a more physical and abrasive style to the table. Born and bred in the Exeter machine, Capstick will only become more physical and more dangerous as he grows into the chiefs starting shirt. Which he no doubt will gain a stranglehold on within the year. A physical workhorse could be of major benefit to a team like England, who always want to play with that physical dimension at the fore. 

Joe Heyes

Heyes might be the player with the greatest upside on this list. The tighthead prop is a fully-fledged international at 22, in the position with the most demanding physical requirements on the pitch. He’s strong in the loose, and a genuinely crafty scrummager. His open play has shades of Marler about it and his physicality at scrum time will only increase with age. He may spend half his career sat behind Kyle Sinckler, but if the Lion ever takes a step back Heyes will no doubt be the heir apparent. 

Johnny May 

May, may well be the big victim of this world cup cycle. His finishing ability is no doubt top tier, but if LRZ burning him in the Six nations told us anything, it’s that he may have lost a step. I am by no means willing to right him off completely, but wing is potentially the deepest position in England. Speedsters like Radwan, Lynagh and Muir are waiting in the wings (pun intended) and they all have had excellent seasons. Radwan particularly standing out. May will need a bounce back season, he needs to remind the world why he has so many caps for England and just how dangerous he can be. If he cannot, his time in the white may be coming to an abrupt end. 

Elliot Daly 

This seems a strange one. His Lions tour has been as good as his Six Nations was embarrassing. The Lions tour has shown us that Daly is a centre, not a back three player. Jones needs to understand and respect this. It gives England potentially the best 13 depth in the world, with Slade, Daly and Marchant all being realistic options to do well in the starting jersey. Daly has to perform upon his return however. He has to find a place in this England team, and not one at Full-Back. With much to prove in spite of an excellent Lions tour, this Autumn must be the time for him to shine. 

Billy Vunipola 

Billy is not necessarily done, but he’s close. Vunipola needs to find something new to add to his game. Be it fitness, be it a rejuvenated physicality, perhaps even an actual breakdown game. Whatever it is, Vunipola must prove it in this coming year, Jones has shown he will give him an unparalleled amount of leeway, but even that must run out eventually. Vunipola needs to return to his transcendent self, if he can, he is one of the best Number Eights in the world. If he cannot, he has to lose his international honours.