Eddie Jones' 'New England' secured an impressive autumn clean sweep with wins over Tonga, Australia and South Africa. And while the head coach isn't getting carried away, Telegraph Sport analyses four key moves that paid off for Jones.
Replacing the old guard
Jones says that he knew after the 2019 World Cup that this team would need refreshing around this point.
“Sometimes you can plan the timing and sometimes the timing comes to you and sometimes it is a bit of both,” the England head coach said.
In this case a combination of a fifth place finish in the Six Nations and a youthful injection over the summer Tests, forced his hand, culling Ford, Billy Vunipola, Mako Vunipola and Jamie George – even if the latter was recalled when Luke Cowan-Dickie was injured.