Jones must harness all the tension and anger

MAKE no mistake, English rugby is in turmoil after the wounding Saracens salary cap affair. And with harsh words and accusations flying around, there are those who are worried this could torpedo the England team in the Six Nations. On the contrary, I take the view this is exactly what England need. There is a famous business and political maxim — never waste a good crisis — and that is the ultra-positive approach Eddie Jones (below) must use the friction when his squad gather this week to galvanise an England team who badly need to get fired up before their opener against France in Paris. The Saracens players — the backbone of the England team for five or six years — have been labelled by many as cheats and must now play alongside colleagues from Exeter, a club which has been particularly outspoken in their criticism of Saracens. There are players from other clubs whose CEOs and owners have been actively working behind the scenes to get Saracens not only fined and docked points, but thrown out of the Premiership altogether That is a decision that will undoubtedly cost people jobs at Saracens and not just the players. So there will be a lot of testosterone flying around for the next few weeks, but as a coach I would embrace that and use it. Tension, anger and angst can be a godsend at times for a coach if used properly. There were plenty of times when I was in charge of England when the Leicester and Wasps players, for example, were barely talking to each other or going at each other in training. Their rivalry was intense, to say the least, but in the long run it was the making of our side. Stuff happens and has to be dealt with. We had a divisive players’ strike one time and as an England team we had to battle the clubs for access to the players, which left them feeling they had to serve two masters. Head coaches must handle this stuff; it’s what they get paid for. I have written how I was worried about England because of their embarrassing no-show in the World Cup final. Not now, though. I expect England to be crackling with energy this week and the months to come. Some of their sessions are going to be very tasty. The Saracens guys will have the bit between their teeth and so will everybody else.