‘Devil’ Jones will make your life hell
Japan hero’s warning for England
ENGLAND have been warned that Eddie Jones will come down on them like ‘thunder and lightning’ in the forthcoming Six Nations camp.
Jones’s 33-man squad will gather for the first time at Pennyhill Park on Sunday evening to begin preparations for the opening game against Scotland on February 6.
And Michael Leitch, who led Japan to three World Cup victories under Jones, believes they could be shocked by the 55-year-old’s intense training schedule, which often includes 17-hour days.
‘The English team might be in for a shock,’ Leitch told Sportsmail. ‘Eddie’s somewhere between a devil and an angel. He works extremely hard and he’s good at taking people with him. The mindset definitely has to change if you want to keep up with him. If you’re caught slacking or you’ve not done your work, he’ll come down on you like thunder and lightning.’
Leitch was Japan skipper for two years under Jones, who is expected to appoint Northampton hooker Dylan Hartley captain for his first Six Nations campaign.
‘ I can see why Dylan Hartley would be perfect for what Eddie’s trying to achieve,’ said Leitch. ‘When I was asked to be captain, the first thing he said is he wants someone who’s on the field every single game. He said don’t worry about big speeches, just play.
‘At the start, he said I was the nicest captain in the world and Japan were the nicest team in the world. He told us that we had to stop playing like nice guys, because being nice would get us nowhere. He wants a ruthless team that puts fear into the other side, so Dylan is probably the best guy for that.’
Hartley has made only two starts in as many months, raising questions over his form and fitness ahead of the trip to Murrayfield. But while Jones cannot guarantee Hartley game-time before the Six Nations, his training sessions — which often start before sunrise — should offer a close alternative.
‘There are times we would be up at 4am, then have several training sessions through the day and finish up our last meeting at 9pm,’ said Leitch. ‘I don’t know anyone else in the world who works as hard as Eddie. He’s known to manage on two or three hours’ sleep for two or three weeks. If training was at 5am, he’d be there at 4am. It reaches a point where you think, “Holy s***, I don’t know if I can do this”, but once you start seeing the results you start to believe.
‘ Saying that, he would always allow time to have fun and go for a beer. He loves a joke. If he’s cross at you on the training ground, he won’t shut you out at dinner. He takes care of the boys if they’re down, goes for a coffee and makes sure they’re happy. He’s fun to be around.’
Having seen Jones’s remarkable turnaround with Japan, who had not won a World Cup match since 1991, Leitch expects the Australian to deliver impressive results in his new role. ‘When he took over Japan, he said we’ll win three games at the World Cup and reach the quarter-final,’ said Leitch.
‘His messages were consistent over the four-year cycle. He didn’t say things unless he firmly believed it, and with the amount of work he put in, we realised he wasn’t just talking off the top of his head. His planning was perfect.’