Jones and his England staff shake off 6-month Test cobwebs... by coaching a Championship club
Eddie Jones has been busy scouting players in person by attending multiple Gallagher Premiership matches in recent weeks but the England boss and his coaching staff have also been occupied with getting their on-field coaching back up to scratch – by spending two days at Championship club Ealing.
Jones and co have not had any coaching to do since England’s early March Guinness Six Nations win over Wales and rather than come into next month’s Barbarians match week cold ahead of a winter schedule featuring five Test games over the following six weekends, they took sessions at Trailfinders earlier this week to get up to speed after their six-month lay-off.
Jones’ main Championship interest in 2020/21 will be Saracens, given how players such as Owen Farrell, Maro Itoje, the Vunipola brothers and other England regulars have stayed with the automatically relegated club rather than spend a loan year at a higher club level elsewhere.
However, having previously visited the ambitious Ealing on a number of occasions, Jones declared they now have their best team ever and he likes the overall look of them as a proper rugby club.
“It’s great to be back here,” said Jones after getting his coaching eye back in on the Vallis Way pitch. “Alex (Codling, the head coach) has kindly allowed us to train the team for two days because we haven’t had any practice since the Wales game, so it has been excellent.
? “There is a real buzz around the place & the squad is the best I've seen here.”
England Head Coach Eddie Jones talks after taking two days of training at Ealing Trailfinders:https://t.co/YWA5gHIv1Y
— Ealing Trailfinders (@ealingtfrugby) September 2, 2020
“It’s fantastic to be involved in rugby again. Everyone was thinking when is the next opportunity to be involved in rugby. We are really appreciative of what Ealing does for us. Alex has kindly invited us down on a number of occasions and for us, we get coaching experience, we get to see what is happening in the Championship and the players hopefully benefit in some way.
“I feel there is a real buzz around the (Ealing) squad this year, real energy. The quality of the player and the quality of the connection between the players is outstanding. We have been here four or five times now and this is the best Ealing side I have seen.
“Ealing has been very kind to us and hopefully we can continue to come down. What I can see is a real rugby club is developing here. You have got the two groups in the academy, I saw those boys training very hard. You have got a good senior squad, you’ve got great facilities. It’s a real tribute to the club in how they are building themselves.”
An excellent tip for anyone on the comeback trail after injuryhttps://t.co/SgeeBf0rug
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 2, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
Bar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
9 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
35 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
35 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
35 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
35 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
35 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
35 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
2 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
35 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
18 Go to comments