Jones excited to have Vunipola back for England
EDDIE JONES was in defensive mode as the Six Nations was launched last week amid talk of England being underdogs for the tournament and faced with a daunting opening match away to champions Ireland next weekend.
His answers were mostly clipped and curt as the questions rained down, and the pain was evident when reminded that England finished in a miserable fifth place last year.
Only once did the mood break and his usual sparkle show itself. That was when he talked about the return of Billy Vunipola (above), who is back in the squad after so many injury problems.
The talismanic No8 has played just twice for England in two years, completely absent from last year’s Six Nations debacle.
It is surely no coincidence that England’s form has suffered badly in the absence of his X-factor, certainly not when you listen to the praise heaped on the Saracens star by both Jones and Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt.
“I know he is excited to be back in the England squad and it’s great to have him around,” said Jones.
“He’s a big guy, he’s got footwork and he’s got the unexpected. He can get the ball out of a tackle and flip it over two players into someone’s hands. Or he can throw a short ball. Then he attracts defenders which creates space. He’s the guy who takes people forward with him.
“He is probably not quite back to his best yet but he will work hard to get there.”
Vunipola has sustained two broken arms along with severe knee and shoulder injuries. It is a peril of his tough trade, but his power inspires teammates and evokes awe in the opposition.
Listen to Schmidt, whose Irish team were Grand Slam champions last year, but who knows England will be a fearsome prospect in Dublin this time round.
“I think Vunipola gives confidence to the England players,” said
Schmidt. “He is such a powerful man and they know he can break the advantage line and other people can play off the back of that. He gets other people into the game with an ability to transfer the ball.
He’s astute and has caused headaches for us in the past.
“Not by any means is he a one-trick pony, just a big ball carrier. He’s very good defensively; he’s pretty effective in set plays and just a real handful especially when he has good guys running off him like his brother Mako or Maro Itoje and Manu Tuilangi.
“I’m just thinking of bruisers really. I do think that the power game is something that England may well bring to Dublin and it will be something really difficult to contain.”
Both teams insist the World Cup later this year is not on their minds at the start of this Six Nations campaign, but the reality is different.
A poor tournament would be damaging psychologically, while on the other hand players know that a good impression now would take them to the World Cup.
Jones acknowledged the latter point and challenged his players to be inspired by this pressure, saying: “A place at the World Cup depends on form and desire over the next nine months.
“When you are selecting a World Cup squad you are looking for the bottom 20 per cent to be fluid – and I’m looking for guys to put pressure on the guys ahead of them.
“That was the delightful thing in the autumn. We had Ben Moon, Alec Hepburn, Mark Wilson and Joe Cokanasiga all come out of the woodwork – they’ve established real competition for places.”