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Eddie Jones admits 'jungle tiger' Kyle Sinckler's temperament is a worry

By PA
England's Kyle Sinckler. (Photo by Dan Mullan/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

Eddie Jones insists “jungle tiger” Kyle Sinckler will never be fully tamed as the England prop marked his return from suspension with an all-action display against Italy.

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Sinckler made his first appearance of the Guinness Six Nations in Saturday’s 41-18 victory at Twickenham after completing a two-week ban for swearing at a referee, and was named man of the match.

The fiery Bristol prop has worked hard to curb the wilder instincts that resulted in previous scrapes with rugby’s judiciary and Jones has set him the target of becoming the best tighthead in the game.

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“There always is a worry,” said Jones. “He’s still a jungle tiger and jungle tigers can always go.

“In the most he behaves like a zoo tiger but still with the fight of a jungle tiger, so we just have to keep managing that.

“I just see him maturing massively as a rugby player. He was a hot-headed individual type with a lot of potential and now what we’re seeing is a maturing, professional, committed player who is producing performances consistently.

“If you look at the way he played for us in the autumn and now the first game back in the Six Nations, he’s going to be close to being the best tighthead in the world and that’s his target, that’s where we want him to get. I’m really pleased with his progress.”

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The trigger for Sinckler’s outburst at referee Karl Dickson when Bristol beat Exeter in the Gallagher Premiership last month was the official’s decision not to punish a tackle by Luke Cowan-Dickie that the Lions front row felt to be dangerous.

Turning once again to an organisation called ‘Saviour World’, a life-coaching programme for men, Sinckler quickly looked inwards as he came to terms with his suspension.

“Obviously there was massive frustration at the time, but once I broke it down and was speaking to my mentor at Saviour World I had to take full responsibility for my actions,” Sinckler said.

“The easiest thing I could have done is blame externally and look for excuses. But I hold my hands up, I understand where I went wrong. I take full responsibility.

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“I came to the understanding of how much of an inspiration you are to the younger generation and how much they do look up to you. You just have to be very, very careful.

“I guess the easiest thing to say would be that it was heat of the moment stuff, it was a dangerous tackle etc. etc., but I have to be accountable for my actions.

“I was frustrated at the time, but then as soon as the hearing decision was made I cracked on and I put a plan in place with my own personal team, just got my head down and grafted.

“I just loved being out there against Italy. I truly love the game. Hopefully people saw how much it means to me just to play rugby.

“I still think I have a lot more growth. I’m nowhere near the player I want to be and there’s a lot of hard work to be done.”

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Ed the Duck 1 hours ago
How Leinster neutralised 'long-in-the-tooth' La Rochelle

Hey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂

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