Woodward reveals the four players he'd like Eddie Jones to call-up

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Sunday, 14 February 2021 at 11:08
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World Cup-winning boss Sir Clive Woodward has selected the four players he'd like to be called up to the England Six Nations squad.
Picking his own England XV for the Mail , he selected these four and give reasons for his call-ups.

1. Piers O'Conor (Bristol Bears)

  • Age: 25
  • Position: Centre
The speedster was in scintillating form for the Bears in January as his club won all three matches, beating Newcastle Falcons, champions Exeter Chiefs and Bath Rugby to end the month top of the Gallagher Premiership table earning the praise of BT Sport’s Ugo Monye.
WOODWARD SAID: "He has been in excellent form for Bristol and has real gas. There is no substitute for it."
DID YOU KNOW? O'Conor is qualified to play international rugby for AustraliaNew ZealandIreland and England
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2. Marcus Smith (Harlequins)

  • Age: 21
  • Position: Fly-half
Despite his stellar form for Harlequins, he’s since been in the international wilderness with no sign of a recall from Eddie Jones. However, following Owen Farrell's recent performance against Scotland, it's clear as day that England need a more creative number 10 to orchestrate the attack.
WOODWARD SAID: "Smith has the ability to terrify defences and is currently the best goal-kicker in world rugby."
DID YOU KNOW? Smith picked up the game of rugby union at the age of seven with Centaurs RFC when his family moved to Singapore from the Philippines
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3. Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins)

  • Age: 23
  • Position: Flanker/Number 8
WOODWARD SAID: “I want Alex Dombrandt in my team for his ball-carrying, handling and try-scoring nous."
DID YOU KNOW? He played for Wales under 20s in the 2017 Six Nations, qualifying as a resident student at a Welsh university. However he has no birth, family or residency qualifications to play for Wales at Test level
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4. Sam Simmonds

  • Age: 26
  • Position: Number 8
He’s a bit of a renegade but, with 11 tries in the Premiership already, the calls for an international recall continue to grow. Hopefully talent prevails, but in this case it’s more likely that Eddie Jones ignores fans and carries on with Vunipola. The Saracens back-rower was sin-binned against Scotland and was poor against Italy.
WOODWARD SAID: "I also want the sheer gas and dynamism of Sam Simmonds at No 8. He's the best player in the Premiership right now."
DID YOU KNOW? After graduating through their academy, Simmonds made his Exeter Chiefs debut in November 2012
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