Jones, Hartley under fire
England have had a charmed run to be nipping at the heels of the All Blacks and their controversial skipper Dylan Hartley is living a charmed existence under coach Eddie Jones.
That’s the unexpected verdict of polarising northern scribe Stephen Jones as he looks ahead into 2018 which starts with England’s defence of the Six Nations and ends with a November schedule that includes the highly anticipated clash with Steve Hansen’s world champion New Zealand outfit.
In a Sunday Times article headlined ‘‘Eddie Jones’s England team selection has tunnel vision’’ the veteran writer sought to bring some perspective to England’s 23-1 record under lively Australian Jones and his ongoing support for Hartley, a hooker who couldn’t make the recent British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand.
He suggested coach Jones had taken over the English outfit amidst a period of decline for some of rugby’s established powers – and that the lack of action against the All Blacks left question marks.
‘‘It would be churlish to go too far into the theory that never in the history of international rugby, with South Africa, Australia, France, Italy, Argentina, Samoa and, until recently, Scotland either poor or downright pathetic - and no fixtures against New Zealand - has it been easier to be dominant,’’ Jones wrote.
‘‘Eddie Jones has timed his reign splendidly.’’
The England coach recently backed Hartley despite ongoing debate about the Kiwi-born player’s form and worthiness for the captaincy with former stars like Lawrence Dallaglio and Will Greenwood strongly attacking that choice as the men in white build towards next year’s World Cup.
Hartley, who has a history of disciplinary problems and rarely plays 80 minutes in tests, missed the Lions tour with his England backup Jamie George preferred among the four hookers selected.
Hartley’s subsequent form for his struggling club side Northampton has added to the pressures on him.
The Sunday Times noted ‘‘a social media poll with a heavy response came out with only 22 per cent in favour of the Jones choice of Hartley, with 78 per cent against - and there were no ‘don’t knows’’’.
‘‘Hartley’s problems in terms of discipline, leadership and playing quality began way before Northampton’s decline. He does not have the presence, power and biting quotability of Martin Johnson, Dallaglio or Brian O’Driscoll; or the quiet aura of Sam Warburton, or the menace of Sean Fitzpatrick or, indeed, the follow-me exuberance on the field of Rory Best,’’ wrote Stephen Jones, who clearly has little faith in the hooker’s leadership qualities.
‘‘Dylan Hartley is by all accounts a decent bloke with a wide streak of humanity. He is neither a great player nor a great captain. One day, England will need him to be both, and they will lose,’’ he concluded.
The theme was continued over at The Guardian where rugby correspondent Paul Reese also noted Eddie Jones’ faith in the old guard, ‘‘not least his captain, Dylan Hartley, who has succumbed to the malaise afflicting his club, Northampton, notable only for his mistakes’’.
He also backed up his journalist colleague’s gauge on the limited top tier of rugby at the moment, writing: ‘‘England, New Zealand and Ireland are the only three tier-one nations to go into 2018 looking equipped to reach the World Cup final.
‘‘Australia are rugby’s version of Arsenal, gung-ho to the point of regarding defence as an optional extra; Scotland are stirring but judgment on them will be suspended until after their opening Six Nations match in Cardiff, given their poor recent away form in the championship, with only three wins, two in Rome, this decade; Wales have stalled while South Africa and Argentina have regressed; France are weaker than they have been for more than 60 years and Italy are starting over under Conor O’Shea.’’
Rees felt the pressure was on this year for the England coach who said last week that the year before a World Cup is ‘‘when you win or lose it’’.
‘‘It will be a testing year for Jones because of the potential Jose´ Mourinho effect. He is the most demanding of coaches, expecting excellence and pushing his players and management team to the limit and beyond. If he strikes gold, he immediately looks for more, never resting or content.
‘‘While his players quickly responded to his methods, it is the point when a message and an approach become familiar that separates the best coaches from the rest.
‘‘Mourinho’s way tends to work for three years before flames burn out; Jones needs an extra one.’’