Eddie Jones leads defence for 'underappreciated' England star Mike Brown

Eddie Jones is growing increasingly irritated by what he believes is scant praise for his players.

England’s head coach is particularly perplexed by the treatment of Mike Brown, who is set to reclaim the No15 jersey against Samoa at Twickenham on Saturday.

Mild irritation over the way Argentina were defeated has evolved into obvious annoyance from Jones, who was unhappy that England were branded lucky while beating Australia 30-6 on Saturday. Jones believes 21 wins and just one loss since he took charge warrants more support from the media.

Brown, who is 32 and has won 63 caps, missed the win over Australia due to concussion and is now ready to return and Jones said of the Harlequins full-back: “He is not appreciated because he doesn’t do the fancy things — and what I find in the English rugby media, in particular, is that they concentrate on the flashy things. That is how the media is here. They want flashy players who do the big plays, while Brown is a terrific team player.

“He is tough, a warrior and gives you everything he has got and plays every game was played as if it was his last. They are the sort of guys you love to coach and players love playing with.

“Brown leads on the field and, while he is not a great talker, he leads by example and those sort of guys make a lot of difference to your team. When it’s an arm wrestle, you need those guys who lead from the front.”

Jones is likely to name fellow Quin Chris Robshaw at No7 as Bath’s Sam Underhill is recovering from concussion.