You can't really blame anyone for wondering why Cips STILL isn't there in WC year though. Of the two of them, on merit and potential to help England achieve a deep WC run in Japan this year, Cips should be there. And if you needed justification for that argument, see yesterday.
Must be personal between Eddie and Cips. There's no other logical explanation.
Mitchell has said Smith is only there to train, and
could be part of the next world cup cycle. If Ford or Faz got injured they wouldn't be calling up Smith. Cips is presumably the 3rd choice.