Eddie plans to get Rich quick Jones: England need to evolve like All Blacks’ McCaw did
EDDIE JONES has urged his England side to do a ‘Richie McCaw’ and make it a black Six Nations for the rest of Europe.
Jones reckons he has only scratched the surface with his side, who are on a England record-equalling run of 14 wins on the spin and are Grand Slam champions.
The Aussie has done his bit to freshen things up – bringing in vision coach Sherylle Calder andnd taking the squad to a five- star resort in Portugal last week.
McCaw ( right) won a world- best 148 caps for the Allll Blacks, is the only skipper to lift the World Cup twice – in 2011 and 2015 – and is regarded as the best flanker in history.
But Jones says the Kiwi was nowhere near that when he started out and wants his England side to show the same rapid i m p r o veme n t s the legendary McCaw did.
Jones said: “Good players evolve with time. Roger Federer... every time he plays he has got some new stroke he develops. It is the same with rugby players. If you are a great defensive player and you can add attacking skills, you become potentially a great player like McCaw.
“When McCaw first played for the Crusaders, he was an out- and- out defensive player. “He couldn’t carry and cou couldn’t pass – he was a great defensive player.
“By the end of his career he could c carry, he could pass – he cou ld do everything and that is how the great players evolve.
“I am not saying I am a great coach, but what I want to make sure of is that our team keeps changing.
“If you keep evolving what you do, then teams are going at what you used to do, not what you are doing now.”
Jones has his work cut out to maintain England’s winning streak, with trips to Dublin and Cardiff.
And he will have to do it without crocked Mako and Billy Vunipola plus former skipper Chris Robshaw, while Joe Marler is set to miss the start of the campaign with a leg fracture.
But the coach insists he has the firepower to overcome their absence – especially the big runs of the Vunipola boys.
He added: “They are big ball-carriers. Billy has been a great lieutenant to Dylan Hartley.
“We’re going to miss them, but we have fantastic replacements.
“Nathan Hughes was outstanding against Australia for his first Test and Joe Marler would have been the form loosehead in the Six Nations.
“They will give us something different.”