Jones backs Borthwick to join Lions staff
Eddie Jones said last night he would welcome Steve Borthwick’s appointment to the British and Irish Lions coaching team, claiming it would give England an insight into how to overcome New Zealand to become the number one side in the world.
England maintained their secondplace position in the world rankings yesterday with an impressive 58-15 victory over Fiji at Twickenham, with Jones claiming it was another step forwards in the national team’s bid to attain “greatness”.
Reports yesterday indicated that Warren Gatland had already sounded out Borthwick and former England defence coach Andy Farrell to be his Lions assistants for the tour of New Zealand which gets under way in June 2017.
Jones said he would press Borthwick to accept any offer as it would help give him the blueprint to beat the All Blacks, and questioned whether Steve Hansen’s side would still be No1 in the rankings by the time England play them in the autumn of 2018.
“I am happy for all of my coaching team, except me, to be involved in the Lions and if they are offered a job I will encourage them to take the job and get down there and work out how to beat New Zealand because that is one of our aims,” Jones said.
“They can help us and the Lions. What a great opportunity to spend 10 weeks in New Zealand on the Lions tour. Ten weeks of hearing “Bro” seven million times and getting to understand everything about New Zealand rugby and, ultimately, if they are the No 1 when we play them, they will be the side to beat, but we are not sure they are going to be No 1 by then.” Jones hailed his side’s display as “outstanding” as they stretched their winning run to 12 Test matches by running in nine tries against Fiji in a onesided contest. Semesa Rokoduguni, the Fijian-born wing (pictured), scored twice on his first return to the side since the defeat by New Zealand in 2014, while Jonathan Joseph and Joe Launchbury also scored two tries apiece, with Elliot Daly, Alex Goode and Teimana Harrison also crossing for tries. “Today was a really good performance – to score 58 points against Fiji is outstanding, but [if] you look at their results in the World Cup they were [only] beaten 23-13 by Wales and 28-13 by Australia so they are a fair team,” Jones added. “So I am really happy with aspects of our game. Collectively the 23 put in a good effort, there was good intensity – we dropped off at certain times but it is always difficult when you get a big lead, to maintain that intensity.
“But that is the next step of a team going forward – that is what we want to achieve.
“If we want greatness in our team we have to maintain that intensity after racing into an early lead.
“Some of the movement from our team was outstanding. Best fish and chips in England. We played really good English rugby.”
Rokoduguni, the Bath wing, said it had been an emotional return for him against his the country of his birth.
“I had adrenalin running through my veins. I didn’t need tears to show my emotion, everything was on the inside more than the outside,” Rokoduguni said. Playing against Fiji was a huge deal for me. Eddie has spoken to me a lot about being ready because the doors would open up and that my chance would come.
“We were happy with the win but their was plenty of room for improvement and areas for us to work on both collectively [as units] and as a team with our attacking moves and with our scrums.”
We do not get to see training sessions these days, so it was nice to be able to see one here, with England going through their work in front of a remarkably good crowd of 81,409 for such an event, but this was all it was.
This was not a full-blown Test match, mainly because Fiji were so clearly unprepared. Their defending, especially in the first quarter, when England scored four tries, was absolutely abysmal, with players flying up on kamikaze missions, leaving holes that were just too easy for England to exploit.
Yes, England were brilliant at times, moving the ball at real pace, with George Ford showing the passing skills and vision that mark his point of difference as an international fly-half so vividly, but they were also rather slovenly at times, conceding three soft tries around the half-time break.
It was a record margin of victory for England over Fiji, bettering the 54-12 win in 2012. But the trouble is that it is impossible to draw too many conclusions because of the paucity – and indeed the off-field penury – of the opposition.
Wing Semesa Rokoduguni had a magnificent match on only his second appearance, and it was a shrewd move by Eddie Jones to play him in a less intense match after he struggled with the occasion as much as anything on debut against New Zealand in 2014, but you suspect that Marland Yarde, who struggled against South Africa last weekend, would have enjoyed playing here too.
Elliot Daly was also superb on the wing, Jonathan Joseph returned with zeal, Joe Launchbury was his usual tireless self, the Vunipola brothers, Billy and Mako, made hard yards and passed like three-quarters.
But if there was one conclusion that can be drawn from this it is that Teimana Harrison did not convince at openside flanker. He worked hard, and indeed scored, but there were moments again when he battled with the physicality of Test-match rugby.
And that is not an accusation that can be levelled at his replacement Nathan Hughes, with Jones glad to be able to see him there for the first time.
Jones could also look at the combination of Ford and Ben Te’o at 10 and 12, as well as the clever passing of Henry Slade at 13 and the powerful running of prop Kyle Sinckler.
England had led 34-10 at half time and the game as a contest had been over long before that. They had already scored five tries and the first of them had been as early as the fourth minute when Joseph had crossed.
It had begun with Ford creating space for Rokoduguni on the right with a lovely floated pass and then the movement was sustained by some powerful carries from Launchbury and Mako Vunipola, with the latter’s step off his left foot a joy to behold. Owen Farrell then delayed his pass intelligently to put Joseph through.
Five minutes later Daly was scoring. Chris Robshaw had stolen the ball deep inside England’s half. Ben Youngs’s box-kick had flummoxed Nemani Nadolo and Rokoduguni had gathered.
Another delightful pass from Ford put Daly in space on the left and suddenly defenders were falling at his feet, such was his footwork and speed.
Rokoduguni was next on the scoresheet, finishing well after good work from Daly and Alex Goode, who probably did not do as much as he might have liked on his recall.
And though Daly probably should have scored again soon afterwards, when England then kicked a penalty to the corner Harrison rumbled over.
Goodness, the first quarter was barely over and it was 24-0 with four tries
scored. That became five when Launchbury went over after another line-out drive, and when Farrell converted it was 31-0. The record books were being consulted at this stage.
At last Fiji awoke. They used the mountainous Nadolo off a scrummage to make the initial dent and then when the ball came back to him on the left with only Rokoduguni in front of him it was try time. He takes some stopping from there.
England were awarded a penalty in front of the posts and kicked it. It was a surprise, and they immediately conceded another try due to some very poor defence.
Akapusi Qera made the ground at first, and when the ball came left from the ruck, lock Leone Nakawara managed to get over despite four England defenders on the line. That shouldn’t happen, even if Nakawara is a sensational ball-player for a second row.
The defence was similarly leaky for Fiji’s third try straight after the break. Again Qera started it, bumping off Farrell, and then when full-back Metuisela Talebula took the ball running right he beat Dylan Hartley rather too easily and ran in at the corner.
England had to return to basics and they thought they had scored through Hartley from a line-out drive, but rightly it was disallowed for obstruction.
No matter, because very soon Rokoduguni was screeching through the middle, having taken a wonderful line to slice through. The ball went right, where Daly and Mako Vunipola combined to send Goode over.
Now Josh Matavesi threw probably the most telegraphed pass in rugby history that Joseph picked off for England’s seventh try and his second.
The eighth fell to Rokoduguni after another gorgeous long pass from Ford and a movement that had begun with a scintillating run from replacement tight head Sinckler.
The ninth was just too simple for Launchbury, his second of the match, as he strolled over after some excellent work from Sinckler, Slade and Billy Vunipola. And there the session ended.