Jones so glad he got Robbo wrong
IT MAY have been a far cry from the Webb Ellis Cup but Eddie Jones admitted he owed Chris Robshaw a fulsome apology after seeing him lift the Old Mutual Wealth Cup at Twickenham yesterday.
In promoting Robshaw to co-captain status again for a notable win over a cap-laden Barbarians XV, Jones showed how his rating of the Harlequins flanker has moved on since he dismissed him as a “club player” when he was Japan coach.
Robshaw would never pretend a victory over the Barbarians could erase the pain of leading England at the 2015 World Cup but in helping guide a callow team on his return after injury he underlined to Jones how badly he misjudged him.
“I love all my players but I probably started part of the discussion and I still haven’t apologised properly to him for that,” said Jones.
“It was a nice moment for him today. You could see he was proud carrying the trophy down the stairs. It was a bit of a cleansing act for Robbo.
“He is such a good player for England. If we have 15 of him we will win the World Cup with that sort of attitude and that sort of commitment.”
England travel to Argentina next weekend with a restorative win under their belt after the disappointment of the Grand Slam defeat. As this was a friendly it will not count in the record books but a win felt good to kick on from that Ireland game which didn’t go to plan. As an England team you never want to lose two games on the bounce,” said Robshaw.
“I didn’t think too much about the captaincy and what had happened before. Myself and George just went out there to help try to lead the team and encourage the young guys in it. It was good fun, good to get a win and good preparation for the Argentina tour.”
Two of the young guns in particular shone. Nathan Earle, who spent a spell last year with Canterbury in New Zealand, made an eye-catching contribution in attack and defence and with a strapping wing high on Jones’s future wish list he did himself no harm whatsoever.
The 22-year-old Saracen scored England’s first try in the 17th minute from Sam James’s inside pass – grotesquely against the run of play – and tracked back to pull off an important cover tackle on Facundo Isa. And Sale teenager Tom Curry was made man of the match despite only being on the field for 43 minutes.
A first-half shoulder injury to Sam Underhill, who followed Alex Lozowski out of the game after coming off second best from an attempted big hit on Richard Hibbard, gave Curry — who was only on the bench because twin brother Sam injured his back in training — free reign to show his skills.
It was his turnover 12 minutes from time that delivered the ball for another teenager, Nick Isiekwe, to kill off the Barbarians with England’s match-winning try. Joe Tekori muscled his way over for the Barbarians’ second try to add to Adam AshleyCooper’s earlier touchdown but Danny Care added the sheen for England with their third try in injury time.
Jones will confirm the squad for Argentina today but is resigned to losing Tom Wood after he was sent off for Northampton on Friday.
“He did something silly and now he pays the price. It is highly unlikely he will go on tour because he will be in strife,” said Jones.