Thursday 26 October 2017 12:50, UK
Eddie Jones said Wasps flanker James Haskell "is not playing well enough" to be included in England's squad for the Autumn internationals, but added the door is not shut just yet.
The 32-year-old has earned 75 caps for England and was a late call-up to the 2017 British and Irish Lions squad in place of the injured Billy Vunipola.
He has not been included in Jones' 34-man squad for England's November Tests against Argentina, Australia and Samoa, however, and Jones addressed the reasons why on Thursday.
"I went up and had a chat to him (Haskell) on Saturday," Jones said. "We had a good chat and at the moment he's just not playing well enough but the door's not shut on him.
"We know he's a great player and has been a great servant for English rugby, nearly 80 caps and I'm sure he'll regain his form."
The headline news among the squad is a first England call-up for Exeter Chiefs backrow Sam Simmonds, and a recall for Sale Sharks wing Denny Solomona two months after being ejected from the England camp for late-night drinking.
So what assurances has Jones received that Solomona won't transgress again?
"None," replied Jones. "He's a human being. Everyone makes mistakes, he made a mistake, he's atoned for it and we're expecting him to follow the team's culture which he will.
"We're dealing with young humans and they make mistakes but he wants to play for England, he understands he's done the wrong thing and I don't think he'll do it again.
"We had a look at Marland (Yarde) in regards to Denny (Solomona) and the number of tries that Denny has scored is far superior to Marland and we want a try scorer on that wing so Denny gets the nod.
"He's (Simmonds) done really well for Exeter. He's a good young player and what I like about him more is his work off the ball. He runs very good support lines, he's very good defensively.
"Of course everyone likes to talk about the tries he's scored but that's a small part of his game. He's got good acceleration and he might add something to our backrow.
"He's also one of the players who could possibly play six, seven or eight so it gives us that utility value."
Skipper Dylan Hartley has been included after a citing against him was dismissed on Wednesday.
Northampton Saints boss Jim Mallinder claimed the citing against Hartley had been "unjust" in the first place, but Jones was not keen to be dragged into the issue.
"That's a matter for his club to deal with," Jones said. "I think Jim Mallinder spoke very eloquently on that so I'll leave that to him.
"We don't have an issue with Dylan at international level. That's at club level, and I don't talk about club issues.
"He'll come into camp as one of the 30-odd players and if he does well he'll be captain."
Included among Jones' squad are two 'apprentice' players in the form of Bath flanker Zach Mercer and Harlequins fly-half Marcus Smith.
"You've got apprentices in your office where they make the tea and when you need some paper they get the paper, they get the paper clips so it's quite simple," Jones responded.
"They'll make the tea, get people's boots, put out the cones, chase balls and practice a little bit at the right time. But they've got to earn their stripes.
"He's (Smith) still the fifth choice but a very good young player. He's courageous, makes good decisions at the line, he's got a good passing, kicking, running game. He's got everything there to be a good player.
"But he's got to learn about the game, he's got a long way to go physically, Mercer's a bit the same, but natural attributes are outstanding.
"He's got good feet, a reasonable feel for the game, needs to work harder off the ball but he's definitely worth investing in, and that's why we've got these two in.
"They're the future of English rugby. Now whether their future's the 2019 World Cup will be dependent on their progress, how hard they work and how much they keep their feet on the ground and don't believe what you guys write about them."
Watch all of England's autumn Test matches from the Old Mutual Wealth Series against Argentina, Australia and Samoa live on Sky Sports Action this November.
