Contrite Eddie Jones steels England for acid test against Australia
The Wallabies usually arrive in London to the familiar soundtrack of their old friend Eddie Jones setting the sharp-tongued agenda for the week. This time they have been greeted by something far more disconcerting: an Australian sports coach apologising for swearing and talking up the visitors in conciliatory tones more normally associated with the archbishop of Canterbury.
Having been a champion sledger in his time, Jones still has the capacity to dish it out when the opportunity arises but he has not relished the widespread coverage of his televised outburst during the 21-8 win against Argentina on Saturday. “It’s not acceptable … I’ll find a different way to express my frustration in the future,” said Jones, later revealing to the BBC Rugby Weekly podcast he had received a reprimand from his 93-year-old mother.
“I got a phone call this morning from my mother rapping me over the knuckles,” he said. “She still tells me not to swear. I am in the dog house and certainly won’t do it again. I should have shown more self-control.”
The perfect antidote would be a convincing England victory against the Wallabies and, despite his frustrated notebook-throwing, Jones believes his side were not irredeemably bad against a big, strong Argentina team. Rather than giving his players a mouthful in public having reviewed the tape, he has instead opted to point the finger at himself.
“Argentina are a difficult team but I obviously didn’t coach the team well enough. It’s my fault the team didn’t play well so I take full responsibility for that.”
There is also a part of him that enjoys the occasional scrappy win, the rationale being that World Cups are never won without at least one below-par performance en route. “I don’t mind winning dirty,” Jones said. “To me rugby is a game that can be played beautifully badly or beautifully well. They tried to bludgeon us and they couldn’t – we stood up to the task with a team put together very quickly. I know you are disappointed with how we played. So are we. But those things happen. It’s like when you bat; sometimes you score a beautiful 100 and sometimes you score a terrible 70. But that terrible 70 might save or win you a Test match so that innings on Saturday was important.”
If there is a potential message there for England’s batsmen before the Ashes series, it is equally clear Jones will expect a sharply improved
display against Michael Cheika’s Wallabies, who have bounced back from a lean period and proved too good for Wales in Cardiff on Saturday. As yet there is no firm indication whether Owen Farrell and Maro Itoje will return to England’s starting lineup but the pair’s inclusion on the World Player of the Year shortlist has underlined their rising status on the global stage.
With Jonny May fully fit again and Mike Brown also going through the mandatory return-to-play protocols after being concussed against the Pumas, Jones has further decisions to make behind the scrum in a week he has already designed to be slightly different preparationwise. Instead of a heavy training day on Tuesday, the squad’s main session will now occur on Wednesday when the players will also transfer from their normal Pennyhill Park base to a different hotel in Syon Park to replicate their itinerant life in Japan during the 2019 World Cup.
Jones will stop short of serving the squad sushi at mealtimes but he does want his team to be ready for all eventualities. “In Japan, we might have to change hotels two days before a game. We might have to fly to a hotel that has had karaoke in it for 10 days and we’re going to have to adjust. It’s not a perfect world. Life at Pennyhill is perfect but that’s not going to win us the World Cup. We have to be adaptable and adjustable and robust. We have to find ways to win and that’s why I’m looking forward to Saturday. I know Australia are going to bring their best and we’re going to have to find a way to win. We won’t have any excuses. There’s always a balancing act but to me, ultimately, I was employed to win the World Cup and that is what I’m intending to do.”
That mission will receive a timely boost if England can beat a team Jones rates as “probably the form team in the world at the moment” under the command of his old Randwick team-mate Cheika. Last year England won four successive Tests against Australia but even Jones concedes his compatriots have responded impressively. “Knowing Cheik he’ll have been hatching a plan immediately and I think he’s done that. He’s rebuilt that side twice now which is a fair job. The game’s certainly going to another level. Are we ready for it? That’s what we’ll find out on Saturday.”