Eddie Jones has said that he is in need of "more leaders" as England look to bounce back from a disastrous Six Nations campaign.
The defending champions suffered their worst showing in 31 years as they surrendered the title to Ireland, eventually finishing fifth in the table after a final-day defeat to Joe Schmidt's side.
Speaking to reporters following the tournament, Jones was asked to analyse where things had gone wrong and suggested that some of his squad had struggled to 'cope with new responsibilities'.
"Things like leadership density of the team and having more leaders," he is quoted as saying by The Independent. "We need more guys like Owen Farrell and to do that you need more time to develop. And when you are developing people who aren't Owen Farrell and you are asking them to do other things, sometimes the weight of those things affects their performance in a negative way.
"So they seem less energetic, but in fact they are just trying to cope with the new responsibilities.
"You never know, some people are born leaders and others aren't. The ones who aren't take a bit of time. Some guys spurt up, and some take a little longer. It's like being in the classroom, some kids get their maths tables easily, some don't. You just have to wait and see. That's a big area for us guys to get right and it does take time."
Jones's comments have caused more speculation over whether Dylan Hartley will remain as captain, with some reports suggesting that he may decide to make a change ahead of next year's World Cup.
Neil Wilkes
