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England's mission: 'The ball is in play 32 minutes... and we want to be an impossible team to play against'
Fresh from a 2020 calendar year that culminated in them being crowned Guinness Six Nations and Autumn Nations Cup champions, England will head into the 2021 championship aiming to become an impossible team to play against in matches where the average ball-in-play time is around 32 minutes.
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Eddie Jones’ side finished out last year on an eight-match unbeaten run and they will look to extend that in a 2021 championship that begins on February 6 with a match at home versus Scotland and will be followed a week later by another Twickenham match versus Italy.
Asked what his targets were for the new year, Jones said: “We don’t have big targets. We have targets for getting better every day. That is our goal. Every day we want to get a little better. Our goal for the tournament is to win the tournament.
“There are six teams participating and five are going to be unhappy, one is going to be happy and we want to be that happy team. We want to continually develop our game, make sure we are adapting to the opposition, adapting to the conditions of the game and be an impossible team to play against.”
Asked to elaborate what he meant by impossible, Jones added: “We want to be a team that plays at a level that the other teams can’t compete against. The ball is in play 32 minutes so it is 32 minutes we want to dominate the opposition.
EXCLUSIVE: The Welsh system told Harry Randall he was too small and his pass too slow, so his Llandovery College coach, Iestyn Thomas, went about proving them wrong in an ingenious manner.
– writes @chrisjonespress ???https://t.co/SlIb9Lnq2D
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 22, 2021
“That is our goal, to be able to dominate at the set-piece. To be able to dominate at the breakdown. When we get the ball and we use it, we take the ball forward in an effective manner. When we kick we have a great kicking game. When we defend we drive the opposition backwards.”
There was criticism of England in their last block of fixtures that they were generally dull as an attacking side, but Jones didn’t agree. “I have heard from a lot of people and I see it – before the lockdown, I saw a lot of people that had smiles on their faces. Really pleased about England winning the Six Nations, really pleased about England winning the Eight Nations. So we want to keep putting the smiles on their faces.”
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Friday was day 4?? of the England coach's 10-day ordeal #GuinnessSixNationshttps://t.co/dAXVZAg6R8
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 22, 2021
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