Jones tells his men to ‘run through them’
AS England packed their bags and headed to Rome, Eddie Jones pledged his side would be ‘‘brutal and absolutely ruthless’’ as they look to start the 2018 Six Nations ‘‘with a bang’’.
Worcester centre Ben Te’o has been preferred to Jonathan Joseph in order ‘‘to hit the line hard, to punch holes, to set the tone for the tournament’’.
The strident rhetoric was in keeping with head coach Jones’ desire to make the most of having almost a full contingent of players at his disposal as England set out to create something unique and lasting. A landmark moment is within reach.
No team in the 134-year history of the championship has won three outright titles in succession and even if England’s horizon stretched no further than tomorrow’s match at the Stadio Olimpico, there is little doubt that Jones sees this tournament as a proving ground for the World Cup in Japan in 18 months’ time.
England are a good team but not yet a great one. Their record of 22 wins in 23 tests under Jones speaks of all-embracing dominance, but that is far from the reality, with the Australian admitting his side had not improved over the past 12 months. In part, enforced absence, with 15 players away with the Lions, has caused that lull. In part, it is a matter of upping the ante. That process is relentless and everpresent, with captain Dylan Hartley subbed out of a full-bore session yesterday, players grunting their way up hills, to do 10 reps on the sidelines to correct poor ball-carrying technique in one training drill.
England are efficient, hardnosed and collectively tough. Yet there have been only intermittent signs of pomp and swagger, sporadic flashes of forward heft and backline majesty. This is the championship for some of those niggling doubts to be laid to rest, for the quibbles and shrugs to become nods of approval, purrs of admiration.
Jones makes absolutely no apology for emphasising the primacy of the physical engagement. He believes not only that the Six Nations is defined by such elemental contests but notes, too, that the 2015 Rugby World Cup final between New Zealand and Australia was decided when the All Blacks scrum ‘‘put the skates’’ on the Wallabies scrum in the second half.
‘‘To be the best in the world is not about doing brilliant things but about doing the basics brilliantly,’’ Jones said. ‘‘The Six Nations is a massive physical contest, a massive set-piece contest. We have got to have that combative mindset in Rome. We want our set-piece to be bulletproof.
‘‘We have to have great line speed in defence and our attack has to punch holes. We want to run through them, smash them at the clean-out and when they get the ball, all that they can see is this white line of jerseys coming at them and there is nowhere for them to go.’’
Te’o epitomises Jones’s insistence of self-improvement and inner hardness. The 31-year-old took himself off to Australia, where he had spent his formative rugby years playing league in seven State of Origin series, at his own expense of several thousand pounds to hire physios and trainers to rehab the ankle he damaged in October. Telegraph, London