WOODWARD TAKES AIM AT JONES
MAKE no mistake, England are one of the few teams who can go to Ireland and win — but come on Eddie Jones, stop the distractions.
I like Eddie, but this talk of using Jack Nowell as an extra forward or an outright No 7 is a huge own goal. This was his first press conference of 2019, a massive year for English rugby, and he’s discussing something completely irrelevant.
The game’s structure is being turned on its head, but Eddie, you are not coaching Japan any more, trying to find a way to catch the opposition out. This is England, one of the top teams on the planet. There are only a handful of matches until the World Cup — it is not the time for new theories.
Beat Ireland and you are up and running. Whoever wins in Dublin on February 2 is going to be absolutely full-on for 2019, and whoin ever loses will have a tough year. It is that important.
If it is an attempt to distract Joe Schmidt and Ireland, Eddie is badly underestimating the quality and resilience of that side. Ireland will be smiling. You cannot imagine Schmidt discussing this total irrelevance in a press conference, especially in World Cup year.
Winding your own men up is fine, but doing so publicly undermines this talented England team.
If it is a genuine theory, the practicalities are stacked against England. I am a fan of Nowell. His technique and grit are great, but I don’t believe he will be in the 23 for that Ireland game. And he should not have to reinvent himself now.
I don’t think this group of England players are experienced enough collectively to handle this stuff, either. Great coaches innovate but must also provide clarity of thought — which this is not.
There is nothing new here. Back 2003, Mike Tindall was as good as Lawrence Dallaglio, Neil Back and Richard Hill at the breakdown and, of course, we used him as an extra man in those areas.
Tindall was up there with Brian O’Driscoll as a back who could play as a forward. They had the skills over the ball, the toughness and resilience to do it.
Equally Dallaglio, Hill and Back were among the fastest backrows to play international rugby and could all play in the backs. It is arguably what set our team apart. I once played Mike Catt on the wing as I wanted more ballplayers in the back-line — so these tricks are not ground-breaking.
I thought the notions of ‘cocaptains’ and ‘apprentices’ would be left behind.
We are two weeks from England’s biggest game of the year and we are digesting Eddie’s nine-man forward pack.
Above all, I do not understand why you’d give away information like this if it was a genuine idea.
Eddie should have done what Conor O’Shea did with the Italy ‘ruck-gate’ fiasco in the 2017 Six Nations. They spoke quietly to the referee before the game and tried to confuse England by not competing at rucks, meaning there was no offside line and they could run round to the English side — but they didn’t tell everyone they were going to do it beforehand.
It may be Nowell is going to play more centrally without the ball rather than being left out wide. But, again, why telegraph this? Ireland will be tracking him now.
Now Eddie must not batter the team on this Portugal training camp. He only has six players listed as unfit ahead of the weekend European games, so this is no time for the coaches to hammer the players. If England have a fully-fit side, they have every chance of winning in Dublin. No judo, nothing the players aren’t used to. Get back to the fundamentals of the set-piece.
What worries me is that, without Dylan Hartley, England are now seriously lacking leadership. There is no bigger fan of Owen Farrell than me, but he should not be captain. He has a huge weight on his shoulders as the goal-kicker and key decision-maker.
When Saracens lost to Sale at the start of the month, I suddenly saw Farrell in a different light. He was captain, under real pressure, the Sale guys got stuck into him and he was sin-binned for a high tackle — an area of his game that is under the spotlight.
Who captains if Farrell is injured or sent off in the first minute? I can’t see anyone who can do it.
These are the issues Eddie should be prioritising, not gimmicks like using nine forwards.