COOL EDDIE IS IN CONTROL

Four years ago this team were broken, now Jones’s merry men are oozing confidence

THOSE professing themselves to be concerned, disappointed and underwhelmed by England’s comprehensive 39-10 victory over Argentina yesterday that put Eddie Jones’ s side through to the quarter- finals of the World Cup with a game to spare might wish to pause to consider a bit of history.

Four years ago this week, in front of their own fans, at a tournament where so much was expected of them, at a competition that was supposed to hold the key to growing the game in the UK, England went out of the World Cup with a game of the pool phase to spare. Four years ago this week, beaten by Wales, battered by Australia, all that was left of our tournament was a dead rubber against Uruguay.

Remember the tension then and the infighting and the agonies about whether Sam Burgess should be in the team or not. Remember the feeling of it falling apart against Wales at Twickenham and the dawning feeling that everything was about to go horribly wrong. And contrast it with now.

Contrast it, for example, with the scene that unfolded in front of a few curious onlookers yesterday lunchtime in the underpass beneath the Gijido Street bridge in Shinjuku a few hours before the game. On a patch of concrete sandwiched between some empty bike racks and a restaurant called Royal Host, a group of men who looked like giants in the tight, enclosed space linked arms in a huddle and then went to work.

JONES leaned against some railings and watched as his England pl a yers went t hrough l i neout dril l s , shouting a code then throwing, leaping, catching and off-loading. And then repeating. Jones smiled through it all. It lasted for 15 minutes. Then there was another huddle and the players strolled away across Chuo- Dori Avenue and back to their hotel.

There were four hours until the start of the biggest game of their World Cup so far but they looked at ease with themselves and what lay ahead. They were relaxed and confident. Four years ago, England wore a haunted look. The pressure was too much. Not this time. So far the attitude could not be more different.

Before they left their makeshift practice area, Jones dropped a ball on to his foot and sent a grubberkick, bouncing and bobbling across the hard surface straight into the arms of one of his staff. Jones, too, looked like a man in his element, eager for the test to come.

When early evening came and England ran out i n the sultry heat to face Argentina, the arena had changed but the routines and the focus stayed the same. Nine minutes had gone when England’s first lineout code was called. Jamie George threw it in and Maro Itoje climbed so high as he caught the ball that he would have hit his hands on the roof of that Shinjuku underpass. Itoje caught and held and a driving maul pushed him onward towards the line. When the ball broke loose, it was fed to George Ford on the blind side and he found Jonny May, who darted over the line to put England 5-3 ahead. On grass, just as on concrete, England looked like a team in control.

They were never headed again on their way to a convincing win. Sure, they have not hit the top of their game yet but they have not needed to. ‘That was a banana-skin game for us,’ said Jones. ‘We can only beat what is put in front of us. I was pleased with the leadership of the game. We are just concentrating on getting better with every match.’

And that is the reality. England will be concerned by an injury to Billy Vunipola, who was forced off at half-time. Jones tried to make a joke of it by saying he had ‘slipped on s o me Kobe beef ’ . It appears Vunipola has hurt his ankle but it is too early to say how badly. Apart from that, England are exactly where they want to be at this stage of the competition.

The victory over Argentina was their sternest exam of the tournament to this point but they withstood the early intensity of the Pumas without l osing their cool or being sucked into a battle about who could show the most passion. Kyle Sinckler conceded one penalty that allowed Argentina to take an early lead but that was it.

‘When you play Argentina, it’s a test of manhood,’ Jones had said on the eve of the game.

But it is also a test of control and Argentina l ost t heirs midway through the half when lock Tomas Lavanini was sent off for a high tackle that jolted Owen Farrell’s head back with shocking force. They had to play for more than 60 minutes with 14 men.

Ar g e n t i n a could have few complaints about the red card shown by Nigel Owens. ‘It was fair,’ their coach Mario Ledesma said after the match. The opening stages of this World Cup have been dogged by debate about whether World Rugby i s going t oo far in its attempts to make the game safer but Lavanini was a big man out of control when he made the challenge on Farrell. The damage could have been a lot worse.

It still seemed puzzling that Farrell did not have a head injury assessment after he took the hit. He appeared unruffled by the incident but he missed all three of England’s conversions and a penalty in the first half.

‘It could be a technical glitch or mistiming when he got his bell rung,’ former England fly-half Paul Grayson said. Farrell said the impact was on his jaw and there was no need for an HIA.

England gradually made t he extra man count and stretched their lead.

As soon as it became obvious the result was no longer in doubt, thoughts inevitably began to shift towards their final group game against France next Saturday and the permutations about who they may face in the knockout phase.

Jones refused to get carried away by the victory. Argentina had lost 10 Tests in a row before they struggled past Tonga last Saturday. They reached t he World Cup semi-finals in 2007 and 2015 but they have been in decline since t hey reached t he l ast four in England f our years ago. But England made this look routine.

Some England fans complained about a lack of fluency but even though they conceded a late try it could not disguise the fact that they had controlled the game with relative ease.

They have three bonus-point wins from three matches. They ran

in six tries yesterday. They are i mproving wit h e very game. Things could be a lot worse. They could be waiting to play Uruguay next week.

Once more, Jones was able to bring players off the bench early yesterday so they could get a feel for the intensity of the competition and if there were concerns about Vunipola, there was also a huge boost for team morale when longterm injury absentee Jack Nowell came off the bench in the second half and scored a typically indomitable try in the corner.

France, who edged past Argentina in t he group’s opening game, may provide another step up in opposition next Saturday when the two teams meet to decide who will win their pool.

The winner of that match is likely to play Australia in the quarterfinals. The loser may face Wales. The consensus is that Australia would be the preferable opponent. There is much to play for.

‘ It’s l i ke a tea bag, i sn’t i t?’ Jones had said of whether his side was battle-ready. ‘You don’t know how good it is until you put it in hot water.’

The water started to get warmer here but England are showing no signs of losing their taste for glory.