Eddie must pick a balanced side with a clear gameplan to execute
“A balanced team with a game plan they understand can have any player as captain and win”
With the first game over, now is the time to get serious and focus on what this Autumn series is all about. Playing South Africa first has given the England players the chance to shake off the constraints of Premiership rugby and focus on the bigger games.
As tough as the South Africans are, the team that everyone measures themselves against, including Eddie Jones, are the All Blacks.
Next week’s game has been the focus of England’s World Cup preparations since Jones took over, as it gives him the chance to see how far his plans have progressed and how much farther they have to go before his team achieve his stated goal to be number one in the world.
It may be there won’t be enough time or matches before the flight to Japan for England to finally capture the coveted world ranking No.1 spot – but win the Cup and he would have achieved his goal in what will probably be his last game in charge of England.
There is a strange synergy between New Zealand and England in that everybody wants to beat them at all costs. Beating England, for historical reasons of the empire and, as the father of the game who introduced the sport to many nations around the world, is seen as the chance to beat the ‘arrogant suppressor’ of their country’s past.
However, beating New Zealand is about facing the Tier one team with a history of winning that is better than any other Tier 1 nation. Since 1903 the All Blacks have played 582 Tests and won 446, a staggering 79.16 per cent which is around 20 per cent better than any of the other Tier 1 nations.
Winning is a habit and one the All Blacks have in spades but it doesn’t make them unbeatable and that is what Eddie Jones must bring into focus for his team this week.
Jones coached Australia in the 2003 World Cup where they beat New Zealand in the semi-final so he knows what it takes to beat them on the big stage and how to break down some of the myths that surround them.
Over the years the mystic surrounding the All Blacks, enhanced by the introduction of the Haka for all games (home and away) in 1986, has even pervaded the minds of national team managers. I remember before I first played the All Blacks being asked by the England management team what I would do while they did the Haka. It seemed strange to me, as something which was once performed as a bit of a warm-up and pre-match entertainment for the crowd, has taken on such a huge significance and is seen as part of what makes New Zealand special.
Many countries, including England, have copied All Black training methods in an effort to emulate their style and success. But the truth is, it’s the structure of the game in New Zealand which make them the force they are.
Schools provide players for clubs with the best players moving on to the provinces which supply Super Rugby franchises with their best players in a constant distillation of the pool of players to find the best to play for their country.
Most of the top players wait until close to retirement before taking the money and moving north to top-up their pensions. Younger players who fail to make the grade at home in New Zealand try their luck earlier and are welcomed with open arms by most northern hemisphere countries.
Personally, I have never understood why so many countries in the northern hemisphere are so keen to pick players who have failed to make international standard for their own national teams.
If they are not good enough for the All Blacks, why are they considered good enough for England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland or France?
Jones knows next week’s result will define this autumn series and England’s progress towards the World Cup. With success, we are on our way, failure and we have a mountain to climb.
Iwas surprised and pleased to see Will Carling called up by Jones to give some leadership advice and guidance to the squad. Jones said he wanted someone to “join England’s past to the present.” Jones said, “He’s a bit of a specialist in leadership. He under- stands English rugby, he understands what made English rugby great, so combining the skill of leadership with the knowledge of English history is a nice resource for us to have.”
I must admit that I think all this talk of leadership is an excuse for poor selection and coaching. A balanced team with a game plan they understand can have any player as captain and win.
Yes, our team won back-to-back Grand Slams and reached a World Cup final, but that was on the back of a great manager and coach in Geoff Cooke and Roger Utley, plus a well balanced team with one of the best packs in the world at that time.
Don’t get me wrong, I think Will’s partnership with Jerry Guscott counted as one of the elements that led to our success as a team, but it was his skills as a great player, not a leader that counted.