Former England coach Clive Woodward says Eddie Jones should stage a trial match to help him finalise his selections for his Six Nations squad.
Jones is set to announce the England squad to play in the upcoming Six Nations tournament later this month as his side look to refresh after the disappointment of finishing as finalists at the 2019 World Cup.
Writing in his weekly column for the Daily Mail, Woodward says he would like to see the team that played in the World Cup final play against a team of England contenders.
‘With the arrival of professionalism, trial matches went out of fashion. But as a short sharp shock to the system, I reckon an official trial match in front of a paying audience still has its uses.
‘England need to reboot and hit the reset button. I would like to see everybody in the England squad required to earn their spurs again against the young pretenders.
‘In my ideal scenario they need to be put under some pressure before they kick off the Six Nations next month against what I expect to be a hungry France in Paris.
‘A trial match would give them a chance to come together and respond. They might all come through with flying colours, in which case the trial match will have served its purpose. Or England’s Probables might lose to the Possibles, in which case again the game will have provided a timely kick up the backside to those in situ and a reminder of the talent England have.’
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