England rugby union squad: Tom Wood handed shock recall as Eddie Jones names his 33 for autumn internationals
Red Rose boss Jones labelled Northampton flanker Wood as 'distinctively average' just nine months ago
TOM WOOD has been given an England recall to ease Eddie Jones' back-row nightmare.
It is a remarkable turnaround for the Northampton Saints flanker who just nine months ago was called "distinctly average" by Jones.
Jones explained: “He might be like Samson - gets stronger with long hair and a beard. He’s done well and I’ve been in contact with him.
"History shows that when you are preparing for a World Cup you need depth at fourth and fifth place positions. That's what we want to have.
"Whilst you never like to see players get injured, it presents opportunities for other players to come forward.
“We have a chance to make new history on Nov 12 against a South Africa side who are regenerating themselves."
The 42-capped forward is now set to start the first Test against South Africa at Twickenham next month.
33-man squad for Old Mutual Wealth Series
FORWARDS
Dave Attwood (Bath Rugby) *injury replacement for George Kruis (Saracens)
Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)
Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby)
Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers)
Jamie George (Saracens)
Teimana Harrison (Northampton Saints) *injury replacement for James Haskell (Wasps)
Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints)
Nathan Hughes (Wasps)
Joe Launchbury (Wasps)
Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints)
Joe Marler (Harlequins)
Ben Morgan (Gloucester Rugby) *injury replacement for Jack Clifford (Harlequins)
Chris Robshaw (Harlequins)
Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins)
Tommy Taylor (Wasps)
Billy Vunipola (Saracens)
Mako Vunipola (Saracens)
Tom Wood (Northampton Saints) *injury replacement for Mike Williams (Leicester Tigers)
BACKS
Mike Brown (Harlequins)
Danny Care (Harlequins)
Elliot Daly (Wasps)
Owen Farrell (Saracens)
George Ford (Bath Rugby)
Alex Goode (Saracens)
Mike Haley (Sale Sharks)
Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby)
Alex Lozowski (Saracens)
Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby)
Semesa Rokoduguni (Bath Rugby)
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors)
Marland Yarde (Harlequins) *injury replacement for Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby)
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)
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Wood was dropped from Jones' first ever Red Rose squad and the boss was furious that he then recalled exactly what he told him in their private conversation.
The 29-year-old revealed: "Eddie was pretty blunt. I had not played rugby for five or six weeks pretty well since he took the job.
“He said that what he had seen from me hadn’t been good enough, he said it had been distinctly average, if I remember the exact phrase, and that what he’s looking for from his number six is a world-class work-rate. And he didn’t see it in me.”
Wood as well as uncapped duo Alex Lozowski of Saracens and Mike Haley of Sale Sharks also made the cut for the 33-man squad for games against the Springboks, Fiji, Argentina and Australia.
Four other uncapped players also made the cut with Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins), back-row forward Nathan Hughes (Wasps) and second-row Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby) in the forwards and Ben Te'o (Worcester) in the backs.
Jones said: “With a number of influential players missing through injury we have two weeks to prepare a robust and resilient team to meet the challenges set for us in the Old Mutual Wealth Series.
Injured players not considered for selection
Jack Clifford (Harlequins)
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs)
James Haskell (Wasps)
Maro Itoje (Saracens)
Sam Jones (Wasps)
George Kruis (Saracens)
Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs)
Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers)
Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby)
Mike Williams (Leicester Tigers)
“Our training camp in Portugal is a great opportunity to spend a week together, focus on putting our game plans in place and for new players to understand the England way.
“We’re looking forward to being back in front of a passionate Twickenham crowd and I’m confident we can prepare well and put together a matchday 23 which is full of pride, energy and commitment to give South Africa the game of their lives.”