Eddie Jones dropped England's new wing sensation Joe Cokanasiga on Thursday and insisted he was doing it for the player's good - to protect his prospects of becoming a Test centurion.
When the coach revealed his line-up for the Calcutta Cup clash with Scotland at Twickenham on Saturday, which will serve as the Guinness Six Nations finale, Cokanasiga was nowhere to be seen, despite his man-of-the-match heroics against Italy last week.
His starting place had gone to Jack Nowell and the 21-year-old Cokanasiga was not included among the reserves.
England head coach Eddie Jones has defended his reason for not selecting Joe Cokanasiga
The barnstorming winger has been omitted from their matchday 23-man squad vs Scotland
Hasty enquiries confirmed that Bath's giant, Fiji-born rookie had not suffered an injury in the 57-14 demolition of the Azzurri, or subsequently in training. It was a straight selection decision and prompted widespread disbelief.
Such was Cokanasiga's explosive impact last weekend, it was assumed that he would be involved in the final fixture.
Jones explained his logic, saying: 'With young players, particularly in this environment, you've got to look after them. I want him to play 100 Tests for England - I don't want him to just play 10 Tests. Sometimes you push young guys forward and sometimes you've got to pull them back.
'It's about taking a measured approach at the start of their career, letting them develop their game and exposing them to the right games. Then you get a good player. That's what we're doing with him.
'It's a bit like in cricket. When you're a young batsman and your first Test is against the West Indies in Perth and you bat No 3, you might not get too many runs. So you pick a Test where they're playing on a flat track, bat them at six, let them get
