Dylan Hartley will captain England during the Six Nations Championship next year, barring the return of any red mist. It is the strongest public statement Eddie Jones has made about Hartley’s role and it came on the same day he dropped him for the first time. As the Australian coach is never shy of saying, “contradictions are a big part of life”.

While that may be so, the message from the side Jones has picked to face Samoa is clear. Appointing Chris Robshaw and George Ford as co-captains is not only a neat way of avoiding raking up too much of the former captain’s annus horribilis in 2015, but also an endorsement of how both are integral parts of his intended leadership group for the 2019 World Cup.

“All things being equal, and [Dylan] doesn’t have one of those mystical experiences at Franklin’s Gardens, he’ll be captain for the Six Nations,” Jones said. “But we want to test our ability, if Dylan’s not available, to put a team on the field and have leadership density. It’s an opportunity for these guys to show it. Just because the tradition is that you have one captain, it doesn’t mean that you have to.”

Captaincy apart, Jones has grasped the nettle and changed more than half of the starting lineup for England’s final match of the autumn. To describe it as experimental, though, would be to forget how meticulously planned England’s World Cup preparations are. “I’ve always been a fan of the way the All Blacks have done it historically,” Jones said. “When they used to have those old tours, midweek they’d always keep a stable spine of the team and then change other positions.”

Indeed, like his predecessor, Stuart Lancaster, Jones already has an ideal number of combined caps for the World Cup in mind. “I could imagine that we’ll have a starting XV of around 700-750 caps, which is perfect,” he said. “Having been through difficult situations you know what you have to do, you’ve got the ability to handle those pressure situations, the ability to communicate, to keep the right body language … all of those things come from experience.”

Jones bristled at the suggestion, however, that this is also a side – with Danny Care, Ford, Alex Lozowski and Henry Slade all starting together for the first time since the first Test in Argentina – set up to go around Samoa rather than through them. “The greatest challenge for us is to be disciplined, and to be physical,” he said. “Keep the game nice and structured and tight, and then it becomes a game that you can manage.”

That may be evidence of how complacency is the dirtiest word in Jones’s vocabulary but, in truth, England should have few troubles against Samoa and he did go as far as to acknowledge the Pacific island teams are far more competitive at World Cups, when they have had sufficient time together to prepare. That said, England open their 2019 World Cup campaign against Tonga and Saturday therefore, is acting as a “dress rehearsal”.

“This will be Samoa’s big game. Particularly with all the hoo-ha that’s going around they’ll be motivated,” said Jones, who worked as a consultant for Samoa in 2006. “I know the Samoans as well as I know any team and I know that when they get their emotional level right they’re a bloody hard side to beat.”

Of the “hoo-ha” Jones added: “What World Rugby has done for [Samoa] has been absolutely outstanding. World Rugby’s a bit like the [Rugby Football Union], everything they do is not right, they never give enough money. They do … they do some great work, and they’ve done a lot of good work with Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. When [Samoa have] got good leaders in there leading the national union they’ll rebound because they’ve always got the players.”

The motivation Jones refers to does not, however, come from the decision of England’s players not to donate a part of their £22,000 match fees to their Samoan counterparts, who are due to earn approximately £650 each from the contest on Saturday, according to their captain, Chris Vui. “It’s not their problem to have to give us money. It’s not their fault at all,” he said.

As far as Hartley’s omission is concerned, meanwhile, this was increasingly a case of now or never for Jamie George to start for England. He has made 19 consecutive appearances as a replacement – a world record – but with Samoa England’s last opponents of the year, Jones has finally seen fit to hand George the No2 jersey.

Hartley he will assume the captaincy as soon as he comes on, however, and will even deliver the post-match speech. “It’s business, isn’t it? Business as usual,” Hartley said. “[Jamie] has supported me for 20-odd games and now it’s my turn to support him.”