Without the likes of Dan Cole Eddie’s team wouldn’t function
Last week’s surprise win over Wales 33-19 gave Eddie Jones some food for thought the day before he named his first ‘Final 31’. I say first because there is still a long way to go in terms of games and training before anyone boards the plane to Japan, and a lot could happen in the two remaining games.
The squad Jones picked boasts only a couple of surprises which is a surprise in itself, but, as last week’s game showed, Jones has got a measure of what he wants from this group of players and appears to have achieved the correct balance.
As I wrote last week, the advantage England had in that game was the fact it was perceived as a second string team, which was full of maybes, while Wales put out an established side close to their best available.
Although a slightly risky strategy by Jones, he had the excuse if they had lost that it was only the second team. The commitment of those players was enough to get the right result and book most of them a place to Japan.
One thing that I found hard to understand was the low player score Dan Cole received by all those rating players in the Press. Personally I thought he had an outstanding game, and made a number of important contributions all over the field.
Of course, many will say as an old fashioned prop I don’t understand the need for the modern prop to be an all singing, all dancing performer all over the pitch – but nothing could be further from the truth.
Most props of any and all generations see themselves as a Jerry Guscott, Owen Farrell type of player, able to beat the opposition with a slight of hand pass, or quick turn of pace and the best unrecognised goal kickers, but never allowed to take a kick in a match despite the amount of practise we all put in at training.
However, we all know, that while props may be able to play every position in the team, no other player can play ours. Meaning that in every game we forego the glories of media adulation and do the one job that nobody else can. We front up the only area in the game where you have to physically wrestle with your opponent while transferring the dynamic power of five very large and powerful players behind you into the opposition pack, and at the same time deflect the shove coming the other way.
Once the set piece is over it was usual for front rows to act as secondary runners from breakdowns, but now they take a more proactive
role as ball carriers and at the breakdown. Cole was particularly good in the breakdown area and produced a couple of turnovers on his own, thus providing the opportunity for others to flourish.
There is an argument for saying that Jones has made selections that have created an unbalanced side over the last couple of seasons and that is why the England team slipped in their results and ability to close out games.
The old adage about a team being
“Cole was particularly good in the breakdown area and made a couple of turnovers”
made up of piano players and piano shifters is true, too many piano players and not enough ball is won to exploit the skills they have; while too many piano shifters and there is a lack of flair to take advantage of the chances created.
Last week the balance was right with players like Cole, Joe Launchbury, Lewis Ludlum and Courtney Lawes shifting enough pianos to create the opportunities for Billy Vunipola, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Ellis Genge along with the backs to create some music for Jones’ ears.
With Jones announcing his squad after that emphatic win, there really was only one surprise – Ruaridh McConnochie – whose Sevens skills at the time of selection were yet to be tested in the international XV arena although his pedigree in Sevens, and with Bath, promises he will bring something different to the squad both on and off the pitch.
I am surprised that Jones has indicated that he feels there may be some off-field discipline issues with the squad while in Japan. Admittedly, this is the first World Cup to be played in what could be called a ‘foreign’ environment, with all previous Cups played in Western European culture countries.
Japan will be very different culturally from what most of the players and fans have experienced wherever they have previously played or watched.
The ‘incidents’ in past Cups have occurred because the similarity of culture between the countries in which the Cup was played and England.
The 2011 ‘dwarf throwing contest’ wasn’t something that was arranged by the England team, but was the usual Saturday night entertainment for the New Zealand locals with which the players joined in.
I am sure at the time no-one thought it would cause the storm it did but our media have changed over the years and what was once not considered worth reporting back in the days before professionalism is now sensationalised for the front pages.
It is a fact that players have had to sign a code of conduct since the very first World Cup in 1987 with rules outlining what is expected of the players, but it also allowed for some down time during the competition. Downtime for the England team when I played was a short break away on Australia’s Hamilton Island in ‘87 and a stop over in Jersey in ‘91 both away from the prying eyes of the Press, which gave the squad a chance to ‘go off piste’ shall we say.
Japan will be a challenge for everyone but Jones has enough experience of the culture and lifestyle to keep his players focused on the job while still allowing them to enjoy a very different World Cup.