Get your fire back, Jones tells Courtney
EDDIE Jones has given Courtney Lawes a verbal kick up the backside and told him to up his game if he wants to be involved in the autumn Tests.
The England head coach got tough with the Northampton forward insisting he had to prove himself during the mini training camp in Portugal last week in the build-up to the three Twickenham internationals.
Lawes was one of the Lions players picked by Jones in his squad for the upcoming clashes with Argentina, Australia and Samoa. The 58-cap lock has struggled along with his many of his club team-mates during Northampton Saints’ indifferent start to the season with recent setbacks domestically and in Europe.
The 28-year-old will be hoping to get a start against the Pumas on Saturday but could miss out with Jones keen to give Charlie Ewels more game time and with George Kruis fit and raring
to go again. Lawes rediscovered top form with England last season which helped him win a Lions tour to New Zealand but Jones insists: “Courtney has not been great the last couple of games.
“He has fallen off a bit lately. He started the season like a house on fire but someone has poured water on that fire and we need to ignite it again.
“Some players are not up to speed right now and it is important we get them back up there.”
Jones insists he is not prepared to experiment with his team selection in the build-up to Japan 2019, saying he cannot afford to lose games along the way.
Jones has accused his own players of “not being fit enough to win a World Cup” but is confident he can get them up to speed by the time they play their opening game of that tournament against Tonga on September 22, 2019.
Despite England winning 20 of their 21 Tests during his reign, Jones said: “They’re not fit enough to win the World Cup, and we want to win the World Cup.
“You don’t have to be fit enough now you have to be fit enough to win the World Cup Final at 19:59 on 2 November 2019.
“You won’t win a World Cup unless you are in the best physical shape possible. International rugby is fast, furious and very physical. You must be able to cope with that for 80 minutes full-on.”
Jones added: “We’re always looking for advice from outside on how to improve because there’s always smarter people than us.
“Dave Reddin, who helped during the 2003 World Cup, is a brilliant operator now with the FA. He’s someone that we’ll consult.
“In America we’ve been to the University of Oregon and Jimmy Radcliffe, one of the most brilliant strength and conditioning coaches. We’re getting him to come over for the last week against Samoa to look at what we’re doing.”