All Blacks are best sports team ever but beatable, says Eddie Jones
Eddie Jones has told England they stand on the brink of greatness after setting up a World Cup semi-final against the “beatable” All Blacks on Saturday. Jones described New Zealand as the greatest team in sporting history but believes England can reach the final provided they are not blinded by the All Blacks’ aura.
England have never beaten New Zealand under Jones, going down 16-15 last November in their only meeting during his tenure. Jones’s side are two victories from sporting immortality, however, after their comprehensive win over Australia booked a first World Cup semi-final for 12 years.
“The reason I took this job is because I saw a team that could be great,” Jones said. “That was the challenge and they are starting to believe it. We have a challenge this week because we are playing the greatest team that has ever been in sport. If you look at their record no other team has that over a sustained period of time. So we are going to have to be better, improving and see what we can get out of this week’s preparation.
“New Zealand are a great team with a great coach and a great captain but like any team they are beatable and there are ways to beat them. We will be investigating every possible way of how we beat them. [The danger] is you become part of the show. I thought that happened a bit [on Saturday]. Ireland really got stuck in when the game was lost. Against any of the best teams, you have to go hard from the start. That’s going to be important for us.”
New Zealand have not lost a World Cup match since 2007 and are pushing for an unprecedented third straight title. They ruthlessly dispatched Ireland 46-14 to reach a seventh World Cup semi-final. The All Blacks raced into a 22-0 lead after 32 minutes and Jones has warned of the dangers of paying New Zealand too much respect in the opening exchanges. Last autumn Chris Ashton scored the opening try within a minute and England missed out on victory only after Sam Underhill’s late try was controversially ruled out.
“You always want to play the best and they are the best – no one can dispute that,” Jones said. “You want to be the best in the world, you have to beat the best. For the players and coaches this is the best week of their lives and you have to enjoy it and make sure you focus on yourself and work to get better.
“If you look at their record I don’t think there’s a team that comes close to them for sustainability. They are playing in the toughest competition in the world against the best all the time. I just admire them. To do what they do from a small country is incredible.
“Name me another team in the world that plays at the absolute top level that wins so many of their games. It’s an example of what you can do. People are raving about Japan and it’s fantastic but you look at what New Zealand have done with four million people. You have to admire them. But then the challenge is to beat them.”
Jones is hoping to have a fullstrength squad, with Jonny May being monitored for a hamstring twinge. Jack Nowell will be in contention if he can train fully on Tuesday.Jones bristled when asked whether he had any sympathy for his compatriots after England condemned the Wallabies to their worst World Cup showing since 2011, with Michael Cheika quitting as the Australia coach on Sunday. “Let’s not get too emotional and silly about this … I’m not an Australian, I’m coaching England; I’m an England coach, if you hadn’t worked that out. Maybe you have to work that out.”