GIVE HIM A NEW CONTRACT
Jones is being painted as a villain but my message is simple...
ALOT of people have been chucking stones at Eddie Jones but my message for the RFU is clear: give him a new contract.
Dave at the pub might disagree because he’s mildly offended by something Eddie’s said, but having been his captain for two and a half years, I think he’s the man for the job, 100 per cent.
It’s no secret that his contract is up next year, and as a result of that you’ll get speculation. For example, Rassie Erasmus was linked with the job in the South African newspapers last week.
A stable team is a better team and headlines like that — true or false — don’t help. It creates something else to talk about and takes the focus away from the team. If the Twickenham bosses want stability, for everyone, they should resolve the situation.
In my opinion, they should pin their colours to the mast and say: ‘Rugby World Cup 2023, here we come, this is our main man.’ Go for it.
One thing that’s guaranteed is Eddie will never lose his appetite for work. The other day I woke up to a missed call from him at 6.30am. He sent a follow-up text saying: ‘When are you coming in, mate?’ He’d probably already had his breakfast because 6.30 for Eddie is a lie-in!
He’s been getting painted as some kind of villain but that’s not what the players see.
In his press conferences, he comes out and answers the hard questions to protect the team. That’s why the boys love him. He copped all the blame for losing the World Cup final when he didn’t have to. He might say one thing to the media and the complete opposite to the guys in their morning meeting.
Behind closed doors, he’s so personable with the team. He sent flowers and a scented candle to my wife, Jo, on her birthday. All the players’ wives and girlfriends got that treatment and Eddie would write a little note saying: ‘We appreciate your families’ sacrifice.’
You might be away in camp for two and a half months, missing your family, and you’ll find that a framed picture of your kids and missus has been put in your room. Even if that stuff is engineered, you get a healthier player to contribute to the team. Amid all that, he will be creating a siege mentality. In international rugby, it is you against the world. The only people you need to please are your team-mates and your coaches.
You say: ‘It’s just us here, no one else matters.’
People talk about controlling the controllables, so why worry about the other stuff? They will be saying the same old thing: ‘No one expects us to win. No one wants us to win.’ How many teams in the Six Nations define their season by beating England? Most of them.
There will always be heat on England and I love that. When there’s heat, it means people expect you to win. It’s Eddie’s job to get the players on edge. He wants them foaming at the mouth and he’s very good at doing that. Edge is what drives performance.
The performances against France and Scotland have taken the spotlight off England, the World Cup finalists. Japan is now in the past and if they win tomorrow they can win the title.
They underperformed in France and Scotland wasn’t a glamorous game, so they’ll be saying: ‘Imagine what we’ll be like when we get going.’
Eddie will be reminding his players how good they are. No stone will be left unturned. When they get to match day, he’ll just say: ‘Go and execute what you’ve prepared.’
They won’t be dwelling on the fact that they didn’t play well against France and Scotland. Who will that inspire? When you’re speaking positively, it’s self-fulfilling and positive noises about Eddie’s future would only add to that.