Evergreen Ben still a lynchpin for Eddie

IT FEELS ironic Eddie Jones is still sweet on veteran scrum-half Ben Youngs.

- Jeremy Cross

When Jones became England head coach in 2015 one of the first things he did was ban Youngs from eating chocolate, after telling him he was too fat and not sharp enough for the highest level.

And he even threw a bag of sweets at him in training, just to emphasise his point.

He likes to be a bit different does Jones, but one thing that’s remained the same has been the fact that, all these years on, Youngs is still one of the first names on the team-sheet.

Ahead of this thrilling Calcutta Cup showdown in Edinburgh, all the talk had been of Jones’ team selection as he builds towards the 2023 World Cup in France.

It feels like a new dawn – and the focal points of it are rising sensation Marcus Smith along with new captain Tom Curry (below).