Eddie Jones reveals what England will do if Japanese typhoons cause RWC lockdowns
England coach Eddie Jones has warned the typhoon sweeping across Asia could have a major disruption on the World Cup in Japan but says he has contingency plans in place to deal with it.
Typhoon Faxai moved north-west over the Pacific towards eastern Japan on Saturday, threatening to make landfall near Tokyo as early as Sunday night, the Japan meteorological agency said.
England are due to leave for Japan on Sunday and the season’s 15th typhoon – packing winds of up to 180 kilometers per hour – is expected to reach coastal areas of the Kanto region between late Sunday and early Monday.
Tournament organisers have planned for the possibility of having to relocate teams from their bases or even to move matches to different venues.
The stadiums for England’s first two games, against Tonga in Sapporo and the United States in Kobe, have roofs and Jones says the team will train indoors on artificial turf if necessary.
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“It’s going to affect the World Cup, there’s no doubt about it,” Jones said after his side’s 37-0 win over Italy in England’s final warm-up match in Newcastle.
“You’ve just got to ride with it, be adaptable and work out how you can cope with the situation. Once the typhoon comes, you just can’t go outside. It’s basically a lockdown. It can vary between being very violent to quite mild.
“The issue is you can’t go outside but we’ve got ideas of what we do if a typhoon stopped us training outdoors. We’ll train on artificial turf indoors.”
England rounded off their World Cup warm-up programme with a win over Italy in Newcastle… here's how @alexshawsport rated their effort
https://t.co/cVE0RF7ahU— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 6, 2019
After playing four warm-up matches on dry pitches, Jones is preparing for a marked change in conditions.
Jones – who has a Japanese-American mother and is married to Hiroko Jones, a Japanese woman he met while teaching in Sydney – is familiar with the potential perils, having lived for long periods in Japan.
He twice coached club teams in Japan before being appointed in 2012 as head coach of the national team ahead of the 2015 World Cup.
‘I’d seen arguably one of the worst things, watching your mother die. I went, ‘Right, what is the worst thing that can happen if I make a mistake on the rugby pitch?’
– Thirty-something Championship veteran @Toby__Freeman who has now joined @Harlequins https://t.co/yvTUuNUTDi— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 7, 2019
“South Africa played Japan (on Friday) and it was very hot and very humid,” he said. “There was a lot of dropped ball, it was quite greasy and that could increase the amount of kicking.”
England made hard work of what should have been a straightforward win over the Azzurri on Friday night.
They led only 9-0 at half-time thanks to three penalty goals from captain Owen Farrell but Jones rung the changes and his team responded with four second-half tries from Joe Marchant, Ellis Genge, Ben Youngs and Anthony Watson.
? HIGHLIGHTS
Relive the best of the action as England round off preparations for Japan with a 37 – 0 victory against Italy. #CarryThemHome pic.twitter.com/7CO7k1voMk
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) September 7, 2019
“It was perfect for us,” Jones said. “Our first two games are against two countries where you can go into the game with a mindset that you’re going to win the game.
“You’ve got to apply yourself 100 per cent and sometimes it’s hard to do. We learned against Italy what happens when you don’t apply yourself.
“In the first half we were scrappy. We were ahead 9-0 and they are one lucky bounce from a try. We changed our whole approach in the second half and I was really pleased with how the players reacted, so it was a great exercise for us.”
Jones added he has “a pretty good idea” of his best team but is resigned to being without Mako Vunipola until the end of the pool stages after the loosehead prop suffered a setback with his hamstring injury.
“He’s as important as the other two looseheads,” Jones said. “We want him back in the mix but we’re prepared to wait and be patient with him. He’s obviously a senior guy, who is good on the field but also great off the field. That is why he is so important for us.”
Joe Launchbury (back) and Luke Cowan-Dickie (knee) also sustained knocks during the game at St James’ Park but Jones is confident they will be fit for the start of the tournament. “We purposely took them off early and were not going to take any risks,” he said. “We don’t feel at this stage they are serious injuries.”
– Press Association
WATCH: The RugbyPass trailer for the soon-to-be-released behind the scenes documentary with Tonga as they prepare for their 2019 World Cup campaign
Comments on RugbyPass
Absolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
5 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
14 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
14 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
5 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to comments