Who’s in charge?

Eddie Jones, who made his name as a coach in his native Australia, was one of the stars of the World Cup when he led Japan to three victories in the pool stages, including the biggest upset in the history of the tournament when they defeated South Africa. He claimed at the tournament that, then aged 55, he was already semi-retired, but his success led to a job with the Stormers in South Africa for all of eight days before England came calling.

Encouraging World Cup?

You must be joking. All right, they were in a tough pool along with Australia and Wales, but as the hosts were expected to do a lot better than finish third and be eliminated straight away.

They were laboured in the opening game of the tournament against Fiji, but at least claimed a bonus point for four tries. Eight days later they lost to Wales by three points, then followed that up with a 20-point loss to Australia. The thumping win over Uruguay to round off Pool A was no compensation at all.

How are they looking now?

They should feel a new lease of life after the disappointment of the World Cup, and can at least tell themselves in all honesty that they are capable of playing better than they managed in the autumn. The concern for the new coach, however, is that, with just a handful of sessions with his team before their opening match against Scotland, he may not have time to impose the desired structure and style of play on them.

Who’s in, who’s out?

Jones’s big decision has been the recall of Dylan Hartley, not only to the squad but as captain. The 29-year-old hooker has missed more than a year of his career through his suspension, and was omitted from the World Cup after being banned for four weeks in the run-up to it.

The risky selection of Hartley, however, has been counterbalanced by some conservative picks in the squad, notably the retention of back-row forward Chris Robshaw, the former national captain. (Jones criticised Robshaw in the newspaper column he wrote during the World Cup, but has since suggested the words ascribed to him were not his actual opinion).

Wasps centre Elliot Daly and Saracens flanker Maro Itoje have been left out of the 23 for the Calcutta Cup despite being in sparkling form domestically, but Jones has included three uncapped players: Northampton prop Paul Hill, Harlequins back-row forward Jack Clifford and Bath centre Ollie Devoto.

Where are they strong?

They have always had immense playing resources and a lot of money to throw at the national side: the problem has been how to utilise those resources to come up with a coherent team. Their traditional strength lies up front, and the back row could also be a major asset provided Jones finds the best balance in selection. Among the backs,

George Ford and Owen Farrell could become a potent dual fulcrum in midfield.

Where are they weak?

Jones must erase a pedestrian mentality that has cost them dearly in big games, when their self-belief often seems to desert them. His appointment of Hartley, however, has made him a hostage to fortune. The hooker has long been a liability, but making him captain has raised the stakes even further: if things go wrong with Hartley the influence will be felt throughout the team.

Key player

It’s hard to look past Hartley. He won’t score the tries, kick the goals or even boss the breakdown, but he is expected to lead by example - and, as the man in the thick of things up front, if he does that well it will have a knock-on effect throughout the team. He has insisted that he is a reformed character, but he has already become tetchy when his poor disciplinary record is brought out, and even reacted touchily to an anodyne question from the master of ceremonies at the Six Nations launch in London last week.

Who will they be worried about?

Scotland. Not so much because it’s Scotland, but rather because it’s the first match. If things go wrong at Murrayfield - in other words if they lose deservedly after failing to put in a coherent team showing - it could be back to the drawing board for Jones before their second match, against Italy in Rome eight days later. Having said that, even an England team who are failing to fire on all cylinders should have enough in the tank to get past the Italians. If they fail in the Olympic Stadium as well as in Edinburgh, the Australian might just begin to think that he should have retired after all.

What will they be happy with?

The rediscovery of a coherent style of play. Jones, perhaps keen to avoid the perception that he is a typically irreverent Aussie with no respect for tradition, has said that he wants his team to be based on the customary English virtues of a powerful, dominant pack. If he achieves that, the results should come and a top-three finish could be achieved. But the bottom line is that, after such a dismal showing at the World Cup, the new coach, his employers and probably a majority of England supporters will be relatively happy even with just a couple of wins and a fourth place - provided the squad is clearly travelling in the right direction.