Debut looming? Henry Arundell did not play for England against the Barbarians due to a muscle strain
(Picture: Getty Images)Eddie Jones has not ruled out handing first England caps to London Irish duo Henry Arundell and Will Joseph on this summer’s tour of Australia, despite naming both as “apprentices”.
Arundell and Joseph, both 19, are among eight uncapped players in the 36-man travelling party, but are the only two tagged as apprentices. This is a device Jones has used regularly in his seven-year tenure as England coach, including for young players like Marcus Smith.
The expectation is that the pair will not be considered for selection in the three Tests, but Jones will not rule it out completely.
Arundell was ruled out of Sunday’s 52-21 thrashing by a 14-man Barbarians team at Twickenham due to a muscle strain, while Joseph did not make the matchday squad.
“We want to take it slowly with those guys,” Jones said. "We want to give them a great learning experience on the tour. If at some stage on the tour one of those guys says ‘you've got to pick me’, we'll certainly consider it strongly.”
Jones would consider Arundell as a full-back or wing and said that Joseph, the younger brother of England centre Jonathan, has been one of the standout performers in training, despite not having started a Premiership game for Irish yet.
