Jones hoping to entertain a nation

EDDIE Jones insists England enter the Guinness Six Nations with a strong understanding of the role they will perform during the coronavirus pandemic.

Owen Farrell’s side launch their title defence against Scotland at Twickenham on February 6 and are narrow favourites ahead of France to clinch the fourth Championship title of the Jones era.

The tournament will unfold with all competing countries in lockdown.

Enhanced protocols, including the introduction of an additional round of testing each week and all meetings being staged outside, have been established to ensure the event does not fall victim to the pandemic.

Jones believes sport has a vital role to play amid the crisis and, while realising that operating in a bio-secure environment presents the challenge of bubble fatigue, he insists that is a small price to pay.

“We understand the responsibility. Elite sport has been given an opportunity to do something to help society get through this,” the head coach said.

“We play a small role, but I think it’s a significant role. I can just talk personally about the enjoyment I’ve had from watching Premier League games over the last period of time.

“You’ve got to understand that we are grateful for this opportunity. We are lucky to be doing something we love doing. We love rugby.

“We are lucky enough, Owen (Farrell, England captain), myself and the rest of the team, to actually make a living out of something we love doing.

“Of course it’s different, and it can be trying at times, but we’ve got something we love doing when everyone else is struggling so much.

“You’ve just got to look at the news - 100,000 people have died in the UK from the coronavirus, one of the highest death rates in the world.

“It’s a tough time for society and we want to make sure that, because we’ve got this opportunity to do something special, we do it with a lot of gratitude, a lot of desire and a lot of enthusiasm.

“Any small consideration we have in terms of not being able to do what we normally do is just part of the job.”