Last Thursday while speaking about Chris Robshaw’s poignant return to the number seven shirt, Eddie Jones cautioned against the abundance contradictions in life.

As he outlined himself, Jones is entitled to change his mind as much as any punter. Still, it is worth revisiting what he told Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun 11 months ago.

“Well, 2017 is interesting here because you've got the [British and Irish] Lions tour. We're going to have possibly our top 15 players away for most of the year. “For me, I'm looking at it as a great chance to develop the depth of the squad. Not so much the top players but develop the next 15 players. And then we all come together in 2018 and put it all together.”

Over 10 matches across 2017, 45 men represented England. Here is a list of them..