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Defiant Jones blasts critics and confident England can emerge as 'champion team'

By Chris Myson
Eddie Jones, England

England boss Eddie Jones has no doubt his side will emerge from their current woe as “a champion team” under his stewardship.

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The head coach is under fire with England on a dismal run of five Test defeats in a row, the most recent being last week’s 23-12 loss to South Africa in Bloemfontein, which gave the Springboks an unassailable 2-0 lead in their three-match series.

England, who suffered three consecutive Six Nations defeats – as well as a loss to the Barbarians – prior to their South Africa tour, are therefore only playing for pride in Cape Town on Saturday, but Jones feels success is not far away ahead of next year’s World Cup in Japan.

“Every team I’ve ever been involved with goes through these periods and you have to be able to get through it,” Jones told reporters.

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“They’re painful, and everyone knows better than you at the time, but once you get through it you have the hallmarks of a champion team and that is where we are going, I have no doubt about it.

“You cannot just expect to keep winning endlessly. You have these periods when it’s tough, but you have to battle through it. It builds resilience, it builds the character of your team, it builds memories and once you get out of it you get a stronger team.

Rather than being affected by the pressure, Jones insists he is loving the scrutiny he is under.

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He added: “Every coaching job is the same. When you are doing well, everyone pats you on the back and when you are not doing well, you’re pulling knives out of your back. That’s the reality of it.

“I’ve been through it before many times. If you coach for a long period of time you have your good periods and your bad periods. These are the great periods.

“These are the periods you look forward to – where everyone thinks you’re done and you have to find a way to win. I’m enjoying it, loving it, absolutely loving it.

“We are disappointed to lose the series, these are tough times at the moment, but in terms of preparing for this week, we need to find a way to put our best performance out there on Saturday.”

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Jones said on Monday that he does not feel the need to hold talks with the Rugby Football Union (RFU) to clarify the security of his position.

In other news: Wallabies lock Adam Coleman blames Israel Folau for black eye

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Trevor 2 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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Bull Shark 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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