Jones ready to bide his time as Saracens star steps into frame

Jones was present at Allianz Park last weekend to see Itoje’s man-of-the-match performance against Bath, describing it as his finest game for the Premiership champions.

The 21-year-old was omitted from the 23 retained in preparation for the trip to Edinburgh with Jones believing elements of his game still need work before he is given his first cap

His hand may be forced, however, if Courtney Lawes fails to recover from his hamstring injury with Thursday’s team announcement set as the deadline for the Northampton second-row to prove his fitness.

“Courtney is progressing. We’ll give him until Thursday. It looks pretty positive. He probably won’t train until Thursday but we’re hopeful he’ll be all right,” said Jones.

“I went to Saracens – I hid in the stands – and it was the best game I’ve seen Itoje play for them. It was really good, very impressive.

“It’s never too late to get in the 23. The 23 isn’t set in stone, but generally speaking the 23 that we kept are the front-runners.

“Now they can play themselves out of selection by injury and by attitude, so there are still opportunities.

“But remember that my job is to make Test rugby players. There’s a step from club rugby to Test rugby here, as there is in every country. There are subtle but strong differences between a good club player and a good Test player.

“I want Maro to be a 60-Test player. I don’t want him to be a 10 or 20-Test player. Sixty-Test players start their career well and build on that.

“Some players you can expose too late, some too early. My gut feeling on Maro is that he’s definitely progressing, but he needs just a little more time. If he’s going to play 60 Tests for England we can wait because that would mean he’s a bloody good player and that’s what I think he will be.”

Jones still hopes to have Manu Tuilagi available for the final two rounds of the Six Nations despite the Leicester centre suffering a hamstring injury.

Tuilagi, who recently returned from 15 months out with a groin problem, is expected to miss two matches but could yet make his long-awaited England comeback against Wales and France.

“I don’t think this really affects his chances – he should be back for Leicester in two or three weeks,” said Jones, who will announce his vice-captain on Thursday. “It’s only a slight strain and he was pretty confident. It means he will get a little bit less game time, but we’d hope he’d still be available for the Wales game.”

Sale Sharks have signed England’s Yorkshire-born hooker Rob Webber on a two-year deal from Bath, who he will leave at the end of this season.

The 29-year-old has won 16 caps and was part of England’s 2015 World Cup squad, although he did not make England’s elite player group announced last month.

“Rob fits perfectly into what we are trying to create at the club,” said Sale rugby director Steve Diamond. “He is a talented all-round player who is great at the set-piece and very mobile in the loose.

“He is at the top of his game and will bring with him a wealth of experience.”

Pocklington-born Webber, who developed through the Leeds Carnegie academy, made more than 100 appearances for Wasps before joining Bath in 2012, added: “I am really looking forward to the new challenge ahead.

“I have spoken to Steve Diamond and the lads I know at the club, and they have all spoken highly about the environment at Sharks.”

Sale hooker Tommy Taylor has joined Wasps. Taylor, 24, will move to Wasps for next season. He made his Sale debut in 2011 and is closing in on 100 first-team appearances for them.

Taylor was twice part of England squads in 2014 and 2015.

Premiership title contenders Exeter have swooped to sign a second Australia international forward for next season.

Queensland Reds prop Greg Holmes will be followed to Sandy Park by ex-New South Wales Waratahs captain Dave Dennis.

The 18 times-capped Dennis, who can play in the back-row or second-row, has agreed a three-year deal. Dennis, 30, made his Test debut against Scotland in 2012 and last featured for the Wallabies when they played Wales in Cardiff more than two years ago.

“I have had an unbelievable time with the Waratahs, and I owe them so much,” said Dennis. “The opportunity, however, to try something new in Exeter was one I wanted to do.”