MUST DO BETTER
Jones not satisfied despite late surge
‘ GOOD, but not bloody good.’ That was Eddie Jones’ earthy summary of where his England side stand after an autumn campaign which brought the results he craved, but not always the performances.
Saturday’s emphatic victory over out-classed but gallant Pacific Islanders was another example of gradual problemsolving by the home side, who sealed a three-from-three November clean-sweep.
As was the case against Australia seven days earlier, the Sweet Chariot stalled a few times along the way, before reaching top speed in a thunderous late surge.
England keep winning, while delivering in bursts. The improvements they seek, from a position of strength, remain frustratingly elusive.
They are a long way away from utterly dominating opponents in all areas of the game, but they now have the confidence and composure, the fitness and the squad depth to fight their way out of most tight corners.
The challenge over the next two years will be to add sufficient layers to avoid many of those corners in the first place.
The final score-line against Samoa was convincing, but much of what preceded it was not, especially during a third quarter when England were repeatedly ambushed at the breakdown.
In the encounter with the Wallabies they had struggled to win the ball and keep hold of it, and that was a recurring theme on Saturday as the hosts were kept pointless from the 29th minute to the 61st. But they blazed clear with a flourish late on, to rack up seven tries and show off some slick attacking patterns.
The final quarter yielded four tries and 26 points, though Samoa’s outstanding captain, Chris Vui, also struck at the other end, as further reward for his side’s defiant efforts against overwhelming odds.
England thus concluded their 2017 schedule with nine wins from ten Tests, another Six Nations title, a 2-0 series win in Argentina and a flawless November return, but also much to work on.
Jones knows it, which is why he told the BBC: ‘The only reason I came to England was because I got offered the chance to coach a team I thought could be bloody good. At the moment I think we’re good, we’re not bloody good, but that’s what we’re going to become.’ The end of a calendar year is a natural juncture to take stock and in many ways, England are well placed in the continuing build-up to the 2019 World Cup.
They have largely maintained their powerful momentum in terms of results, while also broadening the search for Test-class talent.
The ultimate objective is depth equating to three pedigree contenders in all positions and Jones was asked to audit his squad with that target in mind — identifying where the gaps exist.
‘At tight-head we don’t have three guys,’ said the Australian. ‘We don’t know whether Kyle Sinckler will come back or what condition he’s going to be in. He has to prove himself.
‘At loosehead, we’re going okay, hooker okay, locks we’re good. At seven, Robbo (Chris Robshaw) showed enough to be the third option there. Eight; Sam Simmonds has come up to be third-choice. Half-backs; we still need to find a third choice. At ten we are going pretty well, 12. . .13 — there are not too many (gaps).’
Jones is right about the priority areas. After Dan Cole, there is a big experience drop-off at tighthead, where Harry Williams and Sinckler need more exposure.
At scrum-half, Richard Wigglesworth provides a safety net if various rookies don’t kick on to provide back-up for Ben Youngs and Danny Care, but the coaches will want to see more of Alex Lozowski and Henry Slade in midfield, after their promising work against the Samoans.
Anthony Watson needs more game-time at full-back, too. Up front, there is still a need for greater dynamism and pace to go with defensive resilience and setpiece stability. In fact, the scrum remains a work in progress, but England lack the sort of explosive qualities that Michael Hooper provides for the Wallabies, though Simmonds could be the man to fill that void.
There is still the perennial search for rare, precious X-factor. That will go on and on. It might be that Harlequins prodigy Marcus Smith forces his way into World Cup contention, but another absentee could galvanise the back line — Manu Tuilagi. Asked if England still have him in mind, Jones said: ‘If he ever gets himself right then of course we do.’
Even without Tuilagi or another potent, injured centre, Ben Te’o, England have an array of firepower and their task is to harness it into a cohesive unit, capable of dominating rivals over long spells, not just in sporadic bursts.