FIT FOR DUTY
How Eddie turned England into a lean, mean machine to slam Scots
EDDIE JONES will go back to where it all began tomorrow, inspired by looking at footage which showed him just how far England have come during his two-year reign.
The Australian’s first game as head coach was the Calcutta Cup encounter with Scotland at Murrayfield in 2016, which his team won to propel them on their way to a first Grand Slam for 13 years.
Ahead of the latest mission to Edinburgh, Jones recalled the first training session he took, which left him wondering about the scale of the assignment he had accepted.
After recalling Nathan Hughes in an otherwise unchanged side for tomorrow’s NatWest 6 Nations clash, Jones said: ‘I remember the first game. We were only together for two weeks so we only had four training runs. I remember after the first training run — I just had a look at it on video the other day — and I was thinking, “What have I got myself into here?”
‘They weren’t fit. They wanted to play a system of attack, a system of defence and I thought, “This is going to be hard work”.
‘I was massively surprised how quickly they changed. It is hard for good players to change and it is a great credit to the players that they have been able to accept they needed to change and they have done that.
‘Now we are moving in the right direction, how quickly I don’t know, but we are moving in the right direction. And we are looking forward to this challenge.’
Asked to explain in detail exactly what he saw when he reviewed that first session in 2016, Jones added: ‘After 20 minutes, they were just shot. They couldn’t run any more. Not fit enough. The basics of Test rugby is physical condition. You’ve got to be fit enough to play.
‘When you win games in the last 20 minutes, as we have consistently, part of it is fitness and part of it is tactical nous.
‘How many games have you seen the All Blacks win in the last 20 minutes? Plenty. And that’s because they practise it. We practise it now, too. We’ve got the base now to be able to do that and we’re anticipating a tough old game. It’s probably going to come down to the last 20 minutes — which team can hold their nerve, which team can execute under pressure, who’s got the stronger leadership group.’
Jones admitted that he looked back at the start of his tenure because there was a ‘nice symmetry’ about preparing for the fixture which marked his debut.
Since then, the national team have won back- to- back Six Nations titles, that historic Slam and claimed a series whitewash in Australia. It is a spell of success only broken by defeat in Dublin last March. The platform for that glorious purple patch, according to the architect of it all, has been the vast strides made in the players’ physical conditioning.
‘We’ve been looking at a bit of data and, conservatively, we’ve improved by 40 per cent,’ he said. ‘Conservatively. And we’ve still got another 20 per cent to go.’
Jones also insisted England are prepared to win ugly against Scotland’s ‘darlings’ tomorrow.
At the start of the tournament, Jones praised Scotland’s ‘side-toside’ style but last night he claimed stylish rugby would get him sacked.
‘Test-match rugby is about winning, it’s not about entertainment,’ said Jones. ‘It’s about winning and we’ve found a way to win. Testmatch coaching is not as brutal as football, but if you want to just entertain people, you generally find you are not in the job too long. That’s the reality. Style is irrelevant. Style is Ralph Lauren, Hugo Boss, Montblanc, or whatever brand you want it to be.
‘It’s a massive game, the Calcutta Cup. Regardless of whether the pitch is narrow, the pitch is wide, the fans are vocal, the fans are quiet, you get on and play.
‘We’re developing a team that is robust, mentally tough. You don’t hear Man City talk about playing away from home.’
Dylan Hartley will lead England out for his 92nd Test appearance — putting him second on his country’s all-time list behind only the legendary Jason Leonard.
The skipper was reluctant to be drawn on what it means to him, so it was left to the boss. ‘He is not driven by personal milestones or fame,’ said Jones. ‘Dylan has given the team leadership. He has accepted and understood the responsibility. It is a 24-hour job.
‘You have to look at the players’ behaviour because ultimately it is his team. When they run out at Murrayfield, he is the only one who controls that team.’