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Jones salutes huge physical improvements after initial shock at ‘unfit squad

EDDIE JONES feared he had made a big mistake in taking the England job after his first training session in charge.

“The players weren’t fit. After 20 minutes they were just shot,” he revealed yesterday.

“They couldn’t run any more. “I remember thinking: ‘Goodness me, what have I got myself into here? This is going to be hard work’.”

Jones goes back to Murrayfield tomorrow for the first time since his Red Rose debut two years ago with 10 of the same starting line-up.

The majority of the group he despaired of after that first session have combined to win 24 matches from 25 attempts.

He has become world coach of the year and England, backto-back Six Nations champions, have rocketed from eighth to second in the world rankings.

The reason is not to be found on the team sheet, where change has been limited, but in the condition of the players which, Jones says, is as different as night and day.

“We’ve improved 40 per cent,” he warned the Scots. “That’s a conservative estimate. And we’ve still got another 20 per cent to go. The basis of Test match rugby is physical condition – you’ve got to be fit enough to play.

“It is hard for good players to change and I was massively surprised how quickly they did it. It’s a great credit to these boys that they have been able to accept they needed to have done that.”

None more impressively than captain Dylan Hartley, who will surpass Jonny Wilkinson and become England’s second most-capped player behind Jason Leonard with his 92nd cap.

“Would we have got to this point without Eddie? I think it’s a two-way thing,” said Hartley.

“But he’s made me realise what I need to do and he’s made it very clear that if I don’t hit targets and be seen to be getting better, I won’t be here.”

Jones deflected praise back to his players, saying they had learned more from themselves than from him.

“They’ve learned how to play winning rugby,” he added.

“They’ve found a way to win, they want to get better at it and now work together so much more cohesively. What we want to know is that we can tough it out in any situation.

“Style is Ralph Lauren, or whatever brand you want it to be. It comes in and out. But resilience and toughness stay and that is what we are trying to develop.”