>> Exclusive: My Lions boys better not drop off
NICK CAIN gets an exclusive lowdown from England head coach Eddie Jones on his selction for the two-Test Pumas tour
Brace yourselves for the Eddie Jones version of Brave New World. England’s 16-man elite Lions contingent have been warned by the head coach that if any of them fail to rise to the occasion in New Zealand they will be yesterday’s men. Within an hour of Jones turning the England pecking order upside down by unveiling four teenagers among his 15 new faces for the 31-man Argentina tour squad, he revealed that there will be no free passes back into the England squad for Lions luminaries.
Jones says he has told the likes of the Vunipola brothers, Dan Cole, Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje, George Kruis, Ben Youngs, Jonathan Joseph and Anthony Watson that they are playing not just for the Lions when they are in New Zealand, but for their future England careers.
Jones said: “I’ve said to a lot of our players that getting selected for the Lions is nice, but now it’s your job to get in the Test team – and then you’ve got to win. If they are good enough players they will do that. If they are not good enough – and can’t accept they were not good enough – then they are not good enough for us. That’s the reality.”
He adds, “Everyone thinks the Lions players will come back and get straight into the (England) squad, but that’s not necessarily the case.”
In unveiling Stage 2 of his 2019 World Cup masterplan Jones made it clear how ruthless he is prepared to be in pursuit of winning England a second world title. He did it by ignoring a huge tranche of squad players in their 20s who might reasonably have considered themselves to be next in line.
There was no place for Teimana Harrison, Tommy Taylor, Josh Beaumont or Mike Williams in the forwards, or Danny Cipriani, Dan Robson, Christian Wade, Marland Yarde, Semesa Rokoduguni or Mike Haley in the backs.
Instead, by opting to mix experienced Six Nations starters left behind by the Lions with new blood such as Sale’s identicaltwin back row brothers Ben and Tom Curry (both 18), Saracens lock Nick Iziekwe (19), London Irish wing Joe Cokanasiga (19) and his Saracens counterpart Nathan Earle (22), Bath openside Sam Underhill (20), and Exeter scrum-half Jack Maunder (20), Jones skipped a generation.
He emphasises that his drive to raise England to the standard required of world champions is relentless, and that he will not brook anyone feeling sorry for themselves. This included not only those jettisoned by the Lions, but also those who failed to perform in the Grand Slam noshow against Ireland – with Jones putting his own name at the top of the list.
He says he failed the team during the Dublin defeat, and identifies it as his worst moment as England coach: “I got selection wrong, I got it tactically wrong, I didn’t get the substitutions right. I’m still filthy with myself, and I’m only just getting over it now. I let the players down, and didn’t give them the right preparation to win the game.”
Jones says that he has no issue with the squad selected by the Lions, or them leaving any England players behind.
“I don’t think they will regret any players. There are 41 players picked, and sure some are disappointed or unlucky, but there are good enough players on this tour to command respect from the Kiwis. And I don’t want our players who are left out to feel hard done-by. I want them to go, ‘right, what have I got to do to get better?’ And if that’s their attitude, they are going to be alright. But if they have got the other attitude then, again, they are not going to be any good to me. I don’t want players like that.”
He explains that he has “around about 60 to 70 per cent of the England squad in place” ahead of the 2019 World Cup, and that a third of the places in the camp are up for grabs as Stage 2 gets underway.
“The next 30 per cent is going to be crucial. Performances for the Lions may change that percentage, because they are not going down there just playing for the Lions – they are playing for their England spot. They have to understand this is an opportunity they might not get again. You need players to grow. That will affect how we look at the squad going forward.”
Jones says that England’s Lions face a trial by fire, and that he will be watching how they respond closely: “You will see in the first five weeks the players that grow and the players that shrink, very clearly. In New Zealand everyone knows something about rugby, and in each of those five pre-Test games those teams will want to just kick the s**t out of the Lions. They know what their job is: their job is to damage the Lions as much as they can physically and mentally.”
He adds: “You’ve seen Graham Henry tossing in some mental grenades already. The whole country will be geared for it, and you’ve got to be good enough to cope with that. It’s not dissimilar to playing in a World Cup final. You know everything is on the line, and you’ve got to be able to live with that expectation. It’s the greatest experience our players can have – and if they cannot handle it, they are not going to be any good to me anyway.”
However, if they get it right, the Lions have the ammunition to beat New Zealand according to Jones. “100 per cent. New Zealand are at their most vulnerable now. They have lost six of the most iconic players in the world with Carter, McCaw, Nonu, Conrad Smith, Woodcock and Mealamu finishing. While they have good players coming through, there is a gap in experience, so the Lions have a great opportunity.
“If the Lions pick a big, powerful team and go out there and impose themselves – particularly in the first Test, and get a result – they have a great chance to win the series. They’ve also got a great coaching staff. Warren (Gatland) has done more than any other coach in Europe over the last 10 years – he has won trophies with Wasps and Wales, and knows what it’s about. They are geared up to do well.”
Does he believe England would have as good a chance against New Zealand? “We would give it a red hot go. Whether we’d be good enough, I’m not sure. Our aspiration is to be good enough, but maybe with a bit more time, because we are still building.”
However, Jones says his belief that England can win the 2019 World Cup has grown since he started as head coach, and that he is banking on the Argentina tour turning up the competitive heat in the squad by showcasing players who bring something special.
“If we can produce three or four players from this tour that get us something a little bit different from what we have, it will be a great boost. Look at New Zealand at the last World Cup. They had that winger Nehe Milner-Skudder who came from nowhere in six months to add to that team, giving them something they didn’t have before. A little guy with an unbelievable sense for the game who gave them an Xfactor, and no one knew him. That’s what I hope we get from this tour.”
Jones believes that English rugby has exceptional young players, but that too often the Premiership does not promote them – especially where backs are concerned – and that he has remedied that in his selection of the Argentina tour party.
“Young backs don’t get opportunities here, and they miss a lot of their formative years. England win almost every trophy at U20 level and produce good players, but then a lot of young backs tend to stagnate because they do not get the chance to play in the Premiership on a regular basis. That’s one of the limiting factors.”
He continues: “You look at a guy like Nathan Earle at Saracens. He’s played one Premiership game this season, whereas in the Southern Hemisphere he would have played 20 Super Rugby games. Particularly for backs, those 22, 23, 24 years are formative. What happens at the moment in England is that backs tend to go on until they drop – and if clubs want an X- factor player they sign a Willie le Roux or Kurtley Beale, which again makes it hard for young guys to come through.
“We’ve got to find a way to get over that, and that’s why I’ve been particularly robust in selecting a number of young guys for the Argentina tour.”
Jones makes no apologies: “On paper I could have taken a more experienced squad – but not a stronger squad. This is the strongest squad we can pick, and these players have the potential to be very good. Some are not going to make it, but if I get three or four to come through, it will be an absolute bonus for us.”
Three of those youngsters – Underhill and the Curry twins – are opensides, which suggests that the England coach is set on addressing his backrow’s shortcomings at the breakdown. Asked if this was reflected by Billy Vunipola being England’s only Lions back row selection, Jones says it was an area that needs attention, but also points to injuries as a mitigating factor.
“I thought we did amazingly well in the Six Nations. We missed Chris Robshaw, and James Haskell had only 40 minutes of club rugby before coming in. So, we were always short in that area. Tom
Wood came in and did a good job, and we played with a lock at No.6 (Maro Itoje). We got away with it, and only got caught out in the last game.”
Yet, his enthusiasm for giving the young bloods a chance against the Pumas is obvious: “Underhill and the Curry brothers will fire some shots. They are good young players with real grit about them. They are desperate to succeed, and they are athletic and bloody tough, so it’s going to add great competition. I’m not at all perturbed about the back row, and I’m confident it’s an area where we can improve.”
The focus on youth also highlights how much of a watershed England’s first reverse under Jones has become. So, will the lost opportunity to do what no other team has done by recording 19 wins in succession, let alone a scuppered second Grand Slam, knock them sideways – or force them to grow?
Jones says the attitude of the senior players dictates it will be growth. “They have been determined to accept responsibility. There hasn’t been any passing of the buck. When you have got a team that does that you are in the right direction. Our leadership group is fairly fluid, but the guys who are most instrumental in driving it are Dylan Hartley, Owen Farrell, George Ford and James Haskell.”
Jones also pushes a positive line over leadership, lacking at times against Italy and Ireland in particular, and that too many England players rely on being spoon-fed by coaches.
“We’ve improved enormously, but there are still occasions when we don’t have enough who are able to contribute. We have four or five players who are outstanding, but when you have eight or nine all contributing
“You need leaders who, if nuclear bombs are going off, or North Korea has invaded, or Donald Trump is the next prime minister, just get on with their job.”
and thinking then that becomes the norm in the team. At the moment it’s not eight or nine, and it’s our greatest task going forward to increase our leadership density.”
Jones concedes that England are also still short of the “old Bob Dwyer formula” of five world class players he needs to win a World Cup.
“You need five world-class players and eight or nine rockhard leaders – and it doesn’t matter to them if nuclear bombs are going off, or North Korea has invaded, or Donald Trump is going to be the next prime minister, they get on with their job.”
Enquire how many he has now and he replies: “We’ve got two – and I’ll let you guess who.”
Owen Farrell, Billy Vunipola, George Kruis and Maro Itoje come to mind, but what Jones values most in players is reflected more when he talks about his best moment as England coach, and how much a selfless winning mentality, and resilience, counts.
“It was winning that third Test in Australia. We were down and out physically and the players had had enough. But we had a really good week’s preparation in Sydney – we trained hard, got them mentally recovered really well – and they gave a hell of a performance. To win a game which in a way didn’t matter a lot (because the series was already won), but did matter a lot, was outstanding.”
Jones has never been fainthearted or slow to offer his opinions, and it has often led to the charge that he is arrogant. He sees it differently: “Essentially, I try to be honest. I don’t try to be arrogant, I try to tell people how it is. If you hide behind smoke and mirrors you don’t move forward. If you are not honest, you get found out.”
He says: “There’s a lot of people that don’t like me. That’s okay. But I don’t think there are a lot who would say this bloke’s dishonest. I’d say in 100 players I’ve coached you will get 98 who say he tells it like it is – and that’s what most blokes want.”
They also want a coach who has the courage of his convictions. Eddie Jones has never been lacking in that department, and it is reflected in his great expectations of England’s Lions in New Zealand, and of his new generation tour party to Argentina.