Eddie Jones all in on 'New England' with George Ford frozen out and Alfie Barbeary among six uncapped picks

• Owen Farrell retained as captain in England's expanded 36-man squad for Six Nations

• Six uncapped players picked including Wasps No 8 Alfie Barbeary

• George Ford, Sam Underhill and Vunipola brothers among big names missing

If there was any doubt about Eddie Jones’ conviction to push ahead with his ‘new England’ project, there appears to be no going back now.

The make-up of his 36-man squad to begin preparations for the Six Nations Championship provides numerous pointers to the advancement of the revolution that began in earnest ahead of England’s successful autumn campaign.

But perhaps the stand-out of all is the omission of George Ford.

The Leicester fly-half has been in outstanding form for his club, delivering what appeared to be the perfect response to the shock of being left out of England’s plans last October.

Indeed, he had made a strong case to return to the starting XV to face Scotland at Murrayfield on Feb 6, given the experience of 77 caps to cope with the cauldron of pressure and the suitability of his kicking game to the expected conditions.

And yet even with the luxury of adding two more players to the 34-man squad he named in the autumn, Jones has once again overlooked the 28-year-old, instead preferring to name Bath’s rookie fly-half Orlando Bailey as one of six uncapped players.

Given that Owen Farrell has not yet played since injuring his ankle in the victory over Australia last November, and Marcus Smith has yet to start a Six Nations match, this represents a bold selection by Jones and one that is laced with significance.

It would appear to indicate that he has total faith in the Harlequins fly-half to continue his evolution as England’s play-maker for the championship, and, as a consequence, raises serious doubts about Ford’s future for the end-game of Jones’ tenure.

Jones would not disclose the reasons for Ford’s omission, saying only that it was a private conversation.

One thing is certain is that the decision to pick Bailey ahead of Ford is not based on Premiership form.

Jones clearly sees something in Bailey that he wants to explore ahead of the World Cup, and his ability to play in a number of positions across in the backline and defensive clout are among the attributes that have caught the eye of the England head coach. Jones knows that Ford can do, whereas Bailey’s potential is yet untapped.

There are just four campaigns left before the World Cup in France in 2023 and this is key period to integrate and test talent like Bailey, and the same line of thinking can be applied to the other four new faces in the squad Alfie Barbeary, Ollie Chessum, Ollie Hassell-Collins and Luke Northmore.

The absence of Elliot Daly, and the Vunipola brothers, Mako and Billy, further underscores that sentiment. The after-effects of England’s humiliating defeat by Ireland in Dublin last March, it seems, are still being felt.

Instead, Jones is again looking to the future. The inclusion of Barbeary, the former hooker who has recently converted No 8, possesses the kind of gainline-breaking X-factor that Jones craves while Chessum a teak-toughness in a similar vein to Courtney Lawes.

The key area of improvement that England must deliver if they are to bury memories of last season’s forgettable campaign is up front, particularly the set-piece, where Jones is seeking a return to traditional strengths as he did in the build-up to the 2019 World Cup.

Once again the midfield will also come into focus, given that Manu Tuilagi is also among the other notable absentees, along with Sam Underhill. They could yet feature in the championship if they are able to provide their match fitness and sharpness for their clubs.

It will be fascinating to see how Jones accommodates the welcome return of a fit-again and trimmed down Jack Nowell, who Jones describes as now looking ‘more like a rugby player and less like a bodybuilder’.

Yet for all the change, Jones remains utterly loyal to Farrell, and sees him as the foundation stone of the squad as his captain, despite the fact that the Saracen must prove his fitness and sharpness in the Challenge Cup match against London Irish on Sunday.

A different element of risk applies here. The lack of top-flight game time last season for the Saracens’ contingent because they were playing in the Championship was a key influence on England’s fifth place finish in the Six Nations.

Unlike others, Jones is putting great store on Farrell’s ability to become Test ready in an extremely short space of time.

And his confidence to name Farrell as leader for the championship suggests that one area that his revolution will not touch over the next 18 months is the England captaincy.

The balancing act facing Jones is on keeping one eye on his side’s Grand Slam ambitions and the other on the World Cup. The balance of his squad suggests the latter has taken precedent. The next two months are likely to influence the shape of the England squad long after the destination of the championship has been settled.

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England's Six Nations squad announcement - as it happened

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11:43 AM

Gavin Mairs' analysis of the squad

Will be at the top of this blog shortly - thanks for reading. There will be plenty more reaction to Eddie Jones' selection on Telegraph Sport for you in due course too.

You can also listen in to Ben Coles and Charlie Morgan discussing today's news on Twitter at 12.30pm:

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11:40 AM

Squad recap continued

And here are the backs:

Mark Atkinson (Gloucester Rugby, 1 cap), Orlando Bailey (Bath Rugby, uncapped), Owen Farrell (Saracens, 94 caps), Tommy Freeman (Northampton Saints, uncapped), George Furbank (Northampton Saints, 5 caps), Ollie Hassell-Collins (London Irish, uncapped), Max Malins (Saracens, 10 caps), Joe Marchant (Harlequins, 7 caps), Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, 69 caps), Luke Northmore (Harlequins, uncapped), Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs, 34 caps), Raffi Quirke (Sale Sharks, 2 caps), Harry Randall (Bristol Bears, 2 caps), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 43 caps), Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 5 caps), Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 5 caps), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 112 caps).

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11:37 AM

A reminder of the squad

Starting with the forwards:

Alfie Barbeary (Wasps, uncapped), Jamie Blamire (Newcastle Falcons, 5 caps), Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers, uncapped), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, 31 caps), Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 36 caps), Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins, 4 caps), Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 26 caps), Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 31 caps), Jamie George (Saracens, 61 caps), Joe Heyes (Leicester Tigers, 2 caps), Jonny Hill (Exeter Chiefs, 12 caps), Maro Itoje (Saracens, 51 caps), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 90 caps), Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints, 10 caps), Joe Marler (Harlequins, 74 caps), Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks, 2 caps), Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs, 9 caps), Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, 47 caps), Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 15 caps).

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11:22 AM

Owen Farrell

Is due to make his comeback for Saracens against London Irish on Sunday - he hasn't played since the game against Australia in November when he sustained an ankle injury that required surgery.

After his autumn exploits Marcus Smith is clearly the favourite to retain the No 10 jersey, leaving inside centre as Farrell's likely slot in the back line - fitness dependent.

It's also worth noting that Jack Nowell has been selected in an England squad for the first time since the World Cup, having recovered from a succession of injuries.

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11:18 AM

Some new faces more likely to feature than others

So says Telegraph Sport's Ben Coles:

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11:13 AM

Alfie Barbeary

Spoke to our chief rugby union correspondent Gavin Mairs about his England aspirations last month - and the interview is well worth a read after his call-up today.

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11:07 AM

Manu Tuilagi also misses out

The injury-plagued centre clearly not deemed fit enough after the hamstring injury he sustained against South Africa in the autumn.

Of the big names not included, Sam Underhill's omission is probably the most puzzling.

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10:56 AM

Some notable omissions from the party

The Vunipola brothers, George Ford, Sam Underhill and Elliot Daly are all absent from the 36-man squad.

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10:53 AM

Reaction from Eddie Jones

"Selecting this squad has been a difficult task, we’ve got plenty of good young players coming through and some of our more experienced are rediscovering their best form.

"We think this 36 for the first training week reflects a good balance of that experience and up-and-coming talent.

"In [the training camp in] Brighton we’ll focus on getting the fundamentals of our game in play right and developing the cohesion of the team.

"The Six Nations is going to be the most competitive we’ve ever seen. All the countries performed well in the autumn, so we need to be at our best and improve with every game."

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10:46 AM

Here's the squad in full

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10:45 AM

Breaking: Six uncapped players named in England squad

The new names are: Orlando Bailey (Bath), Alfie Barbeary (Wasps), Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers), Tommy Freeman (Northampton), Ollie Hassell-Collins (London Irish) and Luke Northmore (Harlequins).

Owen Farrell will captain with the vice-captains announced before each match.

Ben Youngs is selected and could become England men’s most-capped player during the tournament - he is currently two caps behind Jason Leonard.

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10:34 AM

Ten minutes or so until Eddie Jones names his squad

A reminder: Eddie Jones has been given free rein to select unvaccinated players in the squad even if they are forced to miss away fixtures against Italy and France.

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10:18 AM

England's fixtures for the 2022 Six Nations

• Scotland v England - Saturday, February 5 (4.45pm kick-off)
• Italy v England - Sunday, February 13 (3pm)
• England v Wales - Saturday, February 26 (4.45pm)
• England v Ireland - Saturday, March 12 (4.45pm)
• France v England - Saturday, March 19 (8pm)

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10:03 AM

England's biggest selection questions

Brian Moore says Eddie Jones' main conundrums are finding a settled centre pairing and what to do about Ben Youngs.

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09:51 AM

This Maro Itoje interview

By our very own Charlie Morgan is well worth a read - on the England captaincy and taking his game to 'another level'.

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09:41 AM

Plenty of chatter about Alfie Barbeary

In the run-up to today's squad announcement. Daniel Schofield explains what all the fuss is about with an in-depth look at the Wasps No 8.

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09:32 AM

Good morning

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of England's squad announcement for the upcoming Six Nations.

Eddie Jones is set to reveal a 36-man squad for the tournament - potentially including unvaccinated players even though they may be forced to miss the away fixtures against Italy and France.

An uncapped trio are in contention for a call-up, with Worcester flanker Kyle Hatherell, Bath fly-half Orlando Bailey and Wasps No 8 Alfie Barbeary in Jones' thoughts.

Barbeary has been in superb form of late and our deputy rugby union correspondent Daniel Schofield ran the rule over the 21-year-old and assessed what makes him English rugby's most unique talent.

One of those backing Barbeary for international honours is his Wasps team-mate Brad Shields.

The uncapped Barbeary delivered a man-of-the-match performance in Saturday's Heineken Champions Cup victory over Toulouse that included the pivotal final-quarter try.

Shields believes England will have been monitoring his progress carefully, while noting that he is no longer able to stay under the radar on the field.

"They'll have a whole two eyes on him!" Shields said. "He's been class. He's come up with a couple of key turnovers in the last two weeks that have really changed the game.

"He's a bruiser. He carries the ball hard and makes big shots in defence. The thing about young fellas these days is that they are a bit of hybrid.

"He has got some unreal skill, the way he offloads, the way he plays through contact and keeps his feet alive in contact. That's pretty special.

"He had a magnet on his head against Toulouse, he seemed to get hit a lot. The reality of rugby is that if you are a good player then teams will start to target you. He is expecting that.

"The way he alters his game means he can keep standing up for the rest of the boys.

"If you look at Manu Tuilagi, he is one of the best ball-carriers in the world because he keeps adapting his game to keep the defence guessing. That's what Alfie is doing.

"He has been class for us and for a young fella he wants to express himself. If we can control his game and get him moving in the right direction, giving him opportunities, then that will be a good sign."