Probyn: Failing to plan, you plan to fail, Eddie
After what was a disastrous start to this Six Nations, yesterday’s and even next weekend’s results really can’t change the fact that England rugby, and particularly Eddie Jones, has fallen prey to promising too much and failing to deliver.
Although part of me understands Jones picking his ‘tried and trusted players’ in his efforts to maintain his winning streak, I feel this would have been a good time to experiment.
Jones’ retention of so many of his established players appears to fly in the face of having a World Cup preparation strategy and revealing a ‘win now with a worry about tomorrow’ mindset.
What makes Jones’ current strategy strange is his contract has been extended and he is safe until 2023 particularly with the current financial climate at the RFU making it virtually impossible for them to sack him and buy him out of his remaining contract, even if they wanted to.
As the first foreign coach to take charge of the England team, there were hopes that he would bring something different to the table which would finally deliver a consistency in results with a World Cup win that player numbers, fans and the RFU wealth demands.
Sadly, that hasn’t happened even though he started well off the back of Stuart Lancaster’s efforts, which helped make Jones win-percentage the highest of all previous England head coaches – although he has failed so far in what he was employed to do, win the World Cup.
One quality Jones certainly appears to have is loyalty, as he has shown with his dedication to the club and players that he coached for a couple of years in the Premiership, Saracens.
Even though (through no fault of their own) the Saracens players picked for the England squad haven’t had any consistent rugby since the club’s relegation to the Championship and are all showing the signs of early season fatigue, Jones has kept them in the squad and team.
As a former player, I know how the impact of the first few games of a new season feel, despite preseason training and practice matches. Any faults will be magnified a thousand times if your first games are at international level.
Even the players must know themselves they are not yet up to ‘match speed’.
It’s not, as some say, a case of being ‘rusty’ but more an example of the time needed to re-adjust your reactions to the demands of the game.
Jones, with all of his experience should have been more aware of this situation, which is a known condition that affects virtually all
“Jones will need to win a Grand Slam in the 2023 Six Nations if he hopes to win the World Cup”
players.
With just two more competitions before the World Cup in France, Jones would have been better placed to have used this Six Nations to experiment and try new combinations. Not necessarily to replace all established players, but as an essential part of preparing his squad for any eventualities both leading up to and including the event.
God forbid that England get through to the end of next year’s Six Nations (or worse still the 2023 Six Nations) and then suffer long-term injuries to any of Eddie’s ‘undroppable’ core players.
Throwing an untried player into his first international match at the World Cup would be unfair and irresponsible, as it is a known fact that players take time to adapt to the game at the top level and need a few games under their belt to perform at their best.
This is particularly true of players coming straight from a club environment where they know every other player and how they are expected to play. Joining a squad with different styles and habits while playing to a different plan takes time to adjust.
In an ideal world, Jones’ World Cup squad should consist only of capped players, each with a level of experience of the international game to allow for a seamless replacement of players should any unfortunate injuries occur.
For Jones being given ‘a second chance’ with the same national team is a new experience, as he has usually been moved on after just one shot at the Cup, which I’m guessing, may explain the insecurity that makes him feel the need to win now, seemingly without taking the long term view.
As I have said before, this is only the second time in ten World Cups that England have retained their head coach, which if the first time (Clive Woodward 2003) is anything to go by, bodes well.
Jones, a much more experienced coach with a number of World Cup campaigns behind him, reached the final at his first attempt with an England team and must be hopeful of at least repeating the same again in 2023.
He is fortunate that England have what is the easiest pool draw they have ever had in a World Cup as they are facing none of the other top seven nations in the rugby world.
This virtually guarantees a top of the group qualification for the knockout stages of the Cup with a game against the runner-up of Pool C, which is probably Australia or Wales.
However, with summer tours in doubt and perhaps no Autumn Internationals before the start of RWC23, Jones is left with only one more Six Nations competition to experiment with new combinations.
Jones will need to field his full strength World Cup team and win a Grand Slam in the 2023 Six Nations if he hopes to go one step further to achieve winning the World Cup.
Failure to use this Six Nations to experiment has regretfully left Jones with little time to plan for the World Cup and as the old saying goes ‘if you fail to plan, you plan to fail’.