Pay for safer game, says coach
safer. “If the game’s going to be better then that’s the price you’ve got to pay,” said Jones.
“I was involved in the original committee about the tackle height and we need to make the game safer. Has common sense been applied to the law? You’re probably better than me to make judgments on that, but I think the law is right and we need to keep moving in that direction.
“Everyone said when they brought in outlawing the tip-tackle that it would be a horrific situation. Within six months no one talks about a tip-tackle now, do they? It’s out of the game, it’s a safer game for the players and it’s the same thing that will happen with the tackle law. Personally, I’m 100 per cent supportive of it to make the game safer and there will be an adjustment period that is always difficult, but we’ll get through and the game will be safer.”
Jones said the onus was on players to accept “it is a new game now” and adjust their tackling technique to ensure that hits on opponents are lower. “The law doesn’t look after you if you tackle high, it’s just the way it is. Each player has got to adjust their technique. It’s not a team thing, it’s each player has to learn to adjust their technique to the tackle and they’ve got to do it themselves.
“We monitor all their actions in training, if they’re tackling too high in training we’ll talk to them.”
Dylan Hartley, England’s co-captain, said his players were aware of the situation and had practised a variety of tackles. “We’ve still got to be dominant and physical and win collisions, but the rules haven’t changed, have they? There’s a line that you’re allowed to tackle up to and we’re going to be below that. It’s the same for both teams.”
Meanwhile, supporters travelling to Twickenham by train today have been warned to allow extra time for their journey because of a 24-hour strike by the RMT union on South Western Railway’s network. SWR plans to run around 50 per cent of its normal services, including 12 trains per hour between Waterloo and Twickenham.