Jones ignores critics to stick with Smith-farrell axis
England midfield partnership in ‘infancy’ and will not be split Hill avoids citing as Itoje backs coach to rally side for next Test
Under pressure England coach Eddie Jones has vowed to stick with his midfield partnership of Marcus Smith and Owen Farrell despite several World Cup winners calling for the experiment to end.
Will Greenwood wrote in The Sunday Telegraph that Jones “has to select one of those two, not both” after England’s 30-28 defeat by Australia in the first Test in Perth on Saturday. That opinion was echoed by Lawrence Dallaglio while Sir Clive Woodward, coach of the 2003 England team, says Jones should give the reins to Farrell as the team’s primary playmaker.
Jones, however, has no intention of splitting the Smith-farrell axis for the potentially decisive second Test in Brisbane.
“Certainly for the next Test,” Jones said of the pair playing together. Before Saturday’s defeat, Smith and Farrell had played just one match together, the 32-15 victory over the Wallabies in November in which Farrell injured his ankle. Jones has called for patience as they grow their understanding, even in a run of four successive defeats.
“They are 1½ Tests into it, so there’s a lot of improvement in that area, but there were some opportunities where we were not quite clinical enough to take what they created,” Jones said. “That’s what we need to make sure we work on.
“They’ll be very good together, but it takes time. We’re in the infancy of doing this.”
Jones has been boosted by lock Jonny Hill escaping a citing for his part in a running battle with Darcy Swain. Hill was sent to the sin-bin for yanking the hair of Swain, who retaliated with a butt, for which he was sent off.
Hill will face no further action for apparently shoving Swain in the face in a separate incident.
Flanker Tom Curry may be a doubt after not returning for the second half following a head injury assessment.
Jones’s confidence seemed undiminished, despite suffering his first loss to Australia as England coach in nine matches.
“We will be all right,” he said. “We understand what we need to do.
They’ll be confident, which creates an opportunity for us. They will be hard to beat in Brisbane, where I hear it is raining, and wet and humid. It will be a tough old game up there. It is a hard place to play. We are looking forward to it.”
England have lost five of their seven matches this year and despite Jones receiving another vote of confidence from the Rugby Football Union after the Six Nations, his position remains under intense scrutiny.
In a three-match series, England have the scope to instantly turn their fortunes around.
Second row Maro Itoje was part of the victorious 2016 series here with England and has been a member of two Lions tours, and insists they must come out firing on Saturday. “It’s about raising the intensity,” Itoje said. “Every three-test series I played in, the intensity of game two goes up. We need to raise the intensity, focus on what’s important. We’ll be gunning for game two. In those moments, when your back is against the wall, the team has to get tighter. We have to play tough rugby.”
England flew from Perth to Brisbane yesterday, with the coaching staff needing to address several pressing problems around the breakdown and their attacking game. However, Itoje is confident Jones will get an immediate handle on the issues that the 14-men Wallabies exposed in the first Test. “We try to get to the root of the problem, whatever the problem is,” Itoje said.
“The coaches will have a look, the players will reflect, we’ll reflect as a group. We try to get to the root of the problem ASAP, but really, Monday, we want to be focused on moving forward, game two and what we need to do to move forward.
“I assume, knowing Eddie, he’ll want to do it Sunday, Monday, get to the core root of the issues. All heads are turning to Brisbane and what we need to do to put ourselves in the best position.”