Mike Tindall isn't the only one who thinks Eddie Jones is pitching Gloucester flier Ollie Thorley into Test rugby too early. 

Former IRB World Sevens Player of the Year Ollie Phillips, who plied his trade with the Cherry and Whites in 2012, adds his voice to those concerned about the potential impact on Thorley's progress. 

The ex-Cheltenham College student, 22, is one of four uncapped players named in Jones' squad for the Six Nations but missed out on the matchday 23 in the stunning win over Ireland in the opening round. 

"I sort of agree a little bit with what Mike has said," said Phillips, speaking as a team captain at a training weekend for the LMAX Exchange Everest Rugby Challenge in Scotland.

"They brought Marcus Smith in as an apprentice, as they called it, to give him a bit of exposure to what life at England level might be like. 

"Sometimes that can be encouraging but equally, history books tell us it doesn't always work. 
"Look back at someone like Matthew Tait, they threw him in against Wales at Cardiff - within minutes he got absolutely smashed by Gavin Henson and he went off the rails for 12 months.

"Ollie is going through this incredible run of form at the moment. He's scoring tries for fun, he's a brilliant talent. 

"The crucial part Eddie has to be careful around is that Ollie doesn't get stagnant. He shouldn't just be there to hold a tackle bag and I hope he doesn't walk away despondent and drop off as a result.

"Eddie needs to make sure that doesn't happen because one thing that is certain is that Ollie Thorley is an absolutely fabulous player and could be an incredible player for England."

The 36-year-old's personal crunch comes in April when he acts as a team captain in Wooden Spoon's attempt to break two Guinness World Records for the highest game of rugby ever played.

Phillips will climb Everest alongside Wales' leading try-scorer Shane Williams, ex-England hooker Lee Mears and Wales leading try scorer, Shane Williams, as well as England Women legend Tamara Taylor. 

The former Sevens star, now a director at city firm Pricewaterhousecoopers, overlapped in his stay at Kingsholm with Dan Robson, another pitched in to the Championship uncapped. 

Recollections of Robson's premature departure from Kingsholm reared their ugly head last week after the announcement of Ben Vellacott's intention to join Wasps next season. 

"You're always going to get change in the professional era - players are going to come and go and the time of a one-club player is becoming less frequent now," he said.

"Losing Ben, it's a huge blow, it's a disappointment for Gloucester. But they'll recover and Ackermann is doing a great job. 

"The one area where they're hurting themselves at the moment is their consistency. 

"They'll beat some of the best teams and pull off some of the best performances you've ever seen and then against a side where you think they'll walk it they lose. 

"That's something that Ackerman and Humphreys will look at and think how can we bring that consistency into our squad. 

"That just comes from having a bit of a settled team, so it is a bit of a blow losing key players but I'm pretty positive they'll recover."

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