EDDIE JONES ON ....
...Beach training in Portugal
We have got a couple of different coaches coming up. Physically some players need something different, mentally they need something different. They are going to be working bloody hard and we just want to change it up and they will join up with the team for training on Friday. Some of it will be down the beach and some of it will be at the training centre.
Most of it will be without a rugby ball. Monday we will definitely spend most of the day down the beach. It just the changeup to freshen the minds.
Footballers have a game midweek and next day they train. Rugby guys still need to train and it is a fallacy you give them rest. Sometimes if you give them alternate training maybe it is not as beneficial as specific training, but the mental stimulus they get is much more beneficial.
...Staying on as England coach after 2019
I will worry about that at the appropriate time, it is not a decision I will make. The only thing I am open to is winning the World Cup.
...Responsibilities as national coach
As head coach of the national team, you’ve got a huge responsibility. You’ve got a responsibility for your team to play with pride and passion. You want kids to want to play for that team. We’ve just got to prepare well. If we do that, we put the sport in a better position.
...The perfect 12
There’s no right or wrong way. You can do it through a big 12 with a Te’o or Tuilagi, or you can have a bit more deception and bigger guys on the outside. At some stage you need bigger guys. Just look at the AustraliaNew Zealand game – the outside backs are all over 100kg. It’s hard in that area to be small.
...Is the vogue for massive backs over?
Probably not for this (next) World Cup. There’s not enough time for change. It’s also opened up opportunities for guys like Damien McKenzie. If you’re fast, smart, quick and courageous then you can make it.
...Temptation to bring in football coaches
The games are so far apart. Certainly they could help in terms of sports science or man-management. But in terms of how the games are played, no – unless Pep’s (Guardiola) available. He’s got a bit of an interest in rugby. When I met him at Bayern Munich he’d studied the game and knew a bit about it. He studies a lot of different sports, as most of us do.
...Battle of the hookers
It is a great battle. Jamie George can become a better player than he is, and he knows that. Dylan Hartley can become a better player than he is, so it is a fantastic competition. We’ve brought Tom Dunn in who is a good, tough player. He’s a butcher – a butcher by trade. Seriously. And he’s a tough boy. The sort of bloke who can take on teams like New Zealand.
...Is winning the World Cup becoming an obsession?
No, but it’s what we’re judged by. At the end of the day, if we get to the World Cup and it’s a disaster will anyone remember 19 out of 20 wins? Will anyone remember a Grand Slam? No one. It’s what you’re judged on, so you’ve got to enjoy what you’re doing now and make sure you keep on giving the fans great games of rugby, and keep developing the squad. But ultimately you’ve got to be looking at the World Cup.
...RFU chief executive Steven Brown’s strategic plan
Strategic plans are for administrators and I am not an administrator. It doesn’t really affect me too much. What I like about it is it sets a tone for the game and sets a tone for the game wanting to be better and I love that. I can remember John O’Neill when he was CEO of Australian rugby, not a lot of people liked him but he came out and said, ‘I want rugby to be the No.1 sport in Australia’, and we went a long way to being that because there was a dream there.
What Steve Brown has cleverly done is set a dream for rugby, and that is fantastic – you want to be as good as you can, why not? There is no harm in failing. It is like us going to the World Cup. If we do everything right and we don’t win there is no harm in that, there is no shame in that, as long as you put your best foot forward.