Jones crows: We could have declared
Eddie Jones, like his England rugby team, found some form at Twickenham in the wake of a statement 24-12 victory over Ireland, suggesting his side was so dominant ‘‘we could have declared at halftime’’.
A chirpy Jones – a diehard cricket fan – chose the analogy from the summer sport in assessing a commanding victory by his men who led 17-0 at the break – with tries from George Ford and Elliot Daly – and closed out comfortably yesterday to keep alive their hopes of a Six Nations title as they pursue the unbeaten French over the closing two rounds.
England host Wayne Pivac’s Wales next up in a fortnight at Twickenham and Jones was happy to talk up that occasion as he assessed what British media were labelling the side’s best performance since their seismic Rugby World Cup semifinal upset over the All Blacks in Japan last year.
‘‘We played with a lot of control, we read the conditions well, read the referee well and at halftime, [if] it was a cricket game, we could have declared,’’ Jones said.
‘‘We were really good against Scotland in difficult conditions and we took another step up and will take another step up when we play Wales.
‘‘We’re just fitter, we’re able to play with more intensity and we will be better against Wales. We will have another 10 per cent against Wales.’’
But Jones also could not resist taking a crack at the media who had been critical of some of his selections in the leadup, including his decision to include five specialist locks in his matchday 23.
Asked if the performance against Ireland had been ‘‘vindication’’ for his selections this week as he looked ahead to the pivotal Welsh clash, the irascible Aussie fired back: ‘‘We are going to go for six locks next week against Wales, give you something to write about.
‘‘Look, I don’t need vindication.
‘‘I pick the team that I think is right for the week and you guys [the media] are so clever, you’re all clever so I’ve just got to suck it all up, enjoy what you say, try to learn from you, and maybe I can pick a better team next week.
‘‘There’s a lot more to come. Every time England play Wales it’s the biggest game there’s ever been, so I don’t expect next Saturday week to be any different.’’
The England coach also suggested Wales presented some different threats under their latest Kiwi coach Pivac.
‘‘They are playing a bit differently, dangerous with the ball when they get go-forward . . .
so we will have a closer look at them,’’ he said.
England first five-eighth Owen Farrell, who contributed nine points from his goalkicking in the first matchup against his father Andy since he took over as head coach of Ireland, also spoke about the potential for further improvement in his team.
‘‘It was brilliant to be back at Twickenham, and I hoped everyone saw that in the way that we play,’’ he said.
‘‘We feel like we’ve put a good performance out today but there’s still loads left in us, a lot left in us, and that’s the exciting bit.’’
‘‘You media guys are so clever, I’ve just got to suck it all up . . . try to learn from you.’’ England coach Eddie Jones