WE KNOW YOUR GAME EDDIE!

England coach resorts to classic tactic as he tries to deflect criticism

Every morning at Pennyhill Park, eddie Jones walks past a table in the hotel lobby offering free fruit and a collection of daily newspapers.

yesterday, the headlines in those newspapers did not make pleasant reading from the england team’s perspective.

There were questions about the mindset of Owen Farrell, damning critiques of england’s tactics against France and even outlandish calls for Jones to be sacked immediately.

So with the narrative slipping out of his control, Jones resorted to his classic tactic of stepping into the firing line.

He was not scheduled to speak to the media until Thursday but Jones knows exactly how to create a headline. He put himself forwards at 12.30pm — even arriving five minutes early.

‘er, yeah, well they’re a niggly side, aren’t they?’ he said of Scotland, 45 seconds in.

In an obvious effort to change the week’s storyline, he revisited the day Scotland No 8 ryan Wilson provoked england by targeting George Ford in the tunnel two years ago.

Last week Jones created his controversial storyline calling for ‘ brutality’ from his players, yet this time it was all about shifting the attention on to the opposition.

His answers to questions on other subjects were short and sharp. Prickly, almost.

How are the english players? ‘ready to go, yeah.’

The challenge of starting with two away games? ‘It’s fine, mate.’

Thoughts on the game in France? ‘ I haven’t got enough mental capacity to worry about France.’

Knowing he has little control over the narrative of the Saracens salary cap scandal, Jones has held back the likes of Maro Itoje, Jamie George and elliot Daly from media duties.

yesterday’s offerings were backup scrum-half Willi Heinz and hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie — neither of whom were likely to knock Jones off the back pages.

When the going gets tough, Jones often consults his friend and adviser in Australia, David Pembroke. The pair have worked together since 1998 and they devise ideas to set the public agenda.

The week before the All Blacks semi-final in last year’s World Cup, they highlighted the pressure which was on New Zealand and Jones delivered the story to the world’s cameras like a showman.

On the tour of South Africa two years ago, when england lost six games in a row, Jones put himself up for the media on most days and faced the music with his fists raised.

‘When you are doing well, everyone pats you on the back and when you are not doing well, you’re pulling knives out of your back,’ he said. ‘I’ve been through it before many times.

‘If you coach for a long period of time you have your good periods and your bad periods. These are the great periods. These are the periods you look forward to where everyone thinks you’re done and you have to find a way to win. I’m enjoying it, loving it.’

yesterday was again about putting out fires — even though one defeat in the Six Nations hardly signals an inferno.

Suggestions that Jones should be sacked immediately are ludicrous — he guided england to a World Cup final three months ago and there is no obvious successor — although the fact that his contract expires next year lends itself to uncertainty.

The claims were made by 2003 World Cup winner Kyran Bracken, who added that the Australian should be replaced by an englishman.

‘I’m sure Kyran is entitled to his own opinion and I’m sure it’s a very good opinion,’ replied Jones. ‘He might have a point. Is that a serious question for me? It should be an english coach. you’d all love an english coach. Kyran is entitled to his opinion. Are you guys embarrassed about saying that?’

After 20 minutes of back-andforth, conversation returned to the subject of Scotland.

Jones suggested his staff will have to measure the width of the pitch to stop Scotland making it wider to suit their style of play. Another frivolous remark to deflect attention.

‘The narrative is still there, isn’t it?’ he said of the historic Calcutta Cup rivalry. ‘you go out on the street and talk to people about Scotland, what do they say?

‘That narrative still retains an influence because people still read the newspapers. Otherwise you guys wouldn’t be sitting here.

‘you have a role to play in how the game is played out and we have to try to get the players not to buy into the narrative — to buy into what the reality is.’

The reality is that anything less than a victory in Scotland on Saturday will result in even more unpleasant reading.