Jones wants ‘sharp and smart’ England against Australia

LONDON: England coach Eddie Jones has warned his side to stay “sharp and smart” when they bring down the curtain on their 2018 season against his native Australia at Twickenham today.

Jones’ men have won just five of 11 Tests in 2018 and Australia four of 12 heading into this weekend’s match – concerning figures with less than a year to go until the World Cup in Japan.

It was all a far cry from Jones’s stunning start as England boss – an appointment made after Australia knocked the hosts out of the 2015 World Cup – which saw just two defeats in his first 26 Tests in charge of the Red Rose.

But victory today would be a sixth in a row for England against Australia under Jones.

More importantly, it would also mean they had won three of their four Twickenham encounters this month, with the only reverse an encouraging if agonising 16-15 defeat by world champions New Zealand.

England, however, were sluggish at the start of last week’s eventual 35-15 win over Japan and found themselves five points down at halftime.

But Jones has reverted to something near his strongest available side with Owen Farrell, whose entry off the bench for the second half turned the tide against Japan, starting at fly-half.

Intriguingly, Farrell’s co-captain Dylan Hartley is on the bench, with Jamie George preferred as the starting hooker.

No one knows better than Jones, who exactly 15 years earlier to the day on Thursday had been Australia’s coach when they lost the 2003 World Cup final to England, how Wallaby rugby must live on its wits given a relatively small playing base.

And he warned England would have to pay close attention to Australia centres Bernard Foley and Samu Kerevi, who between them combine guile and power.

“Foley obviously will be the distributor and Kerevi can knock over a few pins, so we’re going to have to be good defensively,” said Jones.

“But to get the opportunity to use the ball we’re going to have to be sharp and smart.”

Traditionally, England-Australia clashes have been framed as a contest between Red Rose forwards and Wallaby backs, although the hosts will look to bring Manu Tuilagi off the bench in what is set to be the injury-plagued centre’s first Test in more than two years.

Certainly, England’s pack will be hoping to starve an Australia side coached by Michael Cheika – who played alongside Jones for Sydney club Randwick – of the ball.

A key figure in that aim will be Saracens second-row Maro Itoje.