“You always have a bit of a view when you’re outside the tent”, he said. “We will be clear on what we want in the team, how we want to behave and how we want to play”, Jones said at his unveiling as England’s new head coach.
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“One thing that hasn’t been widely mentioned: Jones has one heck of a battle that I don’t think he understands – club versus country”.
Despite having his computer taken away by hospital staff, Jones wrote his response on three pieces of paper, photographed them on his mobile phone and sent it to the United Kingdom where Japan were on tour so they could be edited for his column.
10 – Number of teams Jones has occupied coaching or consultancy roles with. I got them also to write to 5 people that helped their son on their journey to be an England player and without the players knowing I collected these into certificates, presented it to the players and I said this is what playing for England means. That is the rule and that’s the rule that is going to stay. Players at that tournament like Courtney Lawes, Joe Launchbury, Billy Vunipola, Ben Youngs, George Ford, Jonathan Joseph and Anthony Watson are set be stalwarts in England’s team for years to come, while there is plenty of other young talent coming through, namely the likes of Jamie George, Maro Itoje and Henry Slade, all of whom look capable of reaching the very top. It was a sign that nothing less than ideal is good enough for Jones.
The 55-year-old former Australia and Japan coach replaces Stuart Lancaster, who stepped down in the wake of the hosts’ pool-stage exit from the World Cup.
When he was reminded of his column during the Rugby World Cup praising Toulon’s Armitage, a former European player of the year, and saying fellow open-side flanker and England captain Chris Robshaw was “not outstanding in any area” Jones was happy to justify his U-turn.
He added: “The team that took Japan to three wins: Steve Borthwick, Leigh Jones – who is a very good breakdown defence coach – and Marc Dal Maso as the scrum coach, are all very serious contenders”.
He came to renewed prominence in the 2015 World Cup in England, where he led the unfancied Japan to an unlikely victory against the Springboks, and following up with two additional victories.
“Everyone’s normal. But I can guarantee you that when we get to that starting line, I’ll be 100 per cent committed to England”. “It’s a great legacy that Lancaster has left, there’s an opportunity to build something here”.
Jones might have only just been appointed but he is already thinking about his eventual successor.
A Japanese television reporter challenged Jones on soundings he had made from the fearless Blossoms side who conquered South Africa in Brighton.
On whether Jones could try to overturn the policy, Owen said: “When you’ve got a coach with the sort of gravitas Eddie Jones has got you can demand certain things”. “Every time players look at him”, Jones said, “they have to know he’s leading the way”.
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What Jones, 55, was not prepared to do on the day he was unveiled by RFU bigwigs Ian Ritchie and Bill Beaumont, was to kill off the careers of any existing player or coach.
