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'Every time the samurais fought, one lived and one died... it will be the same on Saturday'
Eddie Jones will send his England side into battle against Australia amid a call to arms to survive their do-or-die World Cup encounter. Jones has dropped the in-form George Ford for Saturday’s quarter-final at Oita Stadium and moved Owen Farrell to fly-half as part of a beefed-up midfield that includes Manu Tuilagi and Henry Slade.
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It is a conservative selection for a head coach who has staked the success of his entire England reign on the performance at Japan 2019. After experiencing three previous World Cups, he knows passage into the semi-finals is balanced on a knife-edge.
“The great thing about the World Cup is that every game is a knockout,” said Jones from the team hotel, situated at the foot of the mountains that overlook Beppu Bay. “No-one has won a World Cup after losing a game and there’s a reason for that. You know it’s do-or-die time.
“You see those hills at the back of us? That’s where all the samurais lived. Every time the samurais fought, one lived and one died. It will be the same on Saturday – someone is going to live and someone is going to die. That’s what the game is about and that’s the excitement. You get the best eight teams, all playing for their lives.
“You saw that great interview with Semi Radradra after the Fiji game against Wales? He said he emptied his tank and he had to, for his country. That’s what every player in the eight teams is going to do this weekend – for their country. It makes it a little bit different and gives it more meaning. It’s fantastic.”
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Jones has opted for greater physical presence in midfield in order to shackle centre Samu Kerevi, the Fijian-born battering ram who is Australia’s most destructive carrier. As a result, Ford must settle for a place on the bench to make way for the midfield trio that served England well during the Six Nations.
Farrell resumes as ringmaster but there is concern over his form as he has fallen short of expectations so far in Japan and Jones reveals it is a topic that has been addressed with his captain. “Owen’s got quite a big job for us. He’s captain and he’s goal-kicker,” Jones said.
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“The responsibility of being captain at the World Cup is much larger than normal Test matches because you’re bringing a group of 31 players together for eight or nine weeks. You get all the family issues. You go to the dinner table, one brother is happy, one brother is unhappy. Someone doesn’t know if they are happy or not.
‘Even experts, we can’t tell on some of the concussions. It's a very diverse, varied sort of reaction to head injury. Every person is different’
– Dr Rahul Jandial on what message @owen_faz not needing @rugbyworldcup HIAs sends out to grassroots rugby https://t.co/qXyyECYsjl— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 17, 2019
“Owen’s the father of the group, so to speak. His ability to delegate, to know what to say to players is a challenging experience for a young guy like him. He’s coping with it really well. But I feel like sometimes, maybe earlier in the tournament, he spent too much time in the captaincy area and not enough on his own individual prep. I’ve seen a real change in that this week.
“He’s a warrior. He leads from the front. He competes, he’s tough. And that’s what we’ve tried to produce in this team. We’ve got a tough team who competes hard. That’s how we want to play. That’s the England style of playing.”
England vs Australia #RWC2019 #ENGvsAUS pic.twitter.com/xz086iXRUC
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 17, 2019
Jones insists that lifting the Webb Ellis Trophy is earned by resilience more than genius. “Tournaments are about – and particularly a World Cup is about – a team sticking together,” he said.
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“The rugby in a World Cup is pretty simple. You don’t see brilliant rugby in World Cups. You see teams that are able to do things over and over again well, deal with the intensity, application, work hard for each other – that wins World Cups.
“I can’t recall a brilliant team winning the World Cup. Tough, hard teams that stick together win it. Maybe the only one is New Zealand in 2015. They were miles ahead of everyone. Apart from that…”
– Press Association
WATCH: Former Australian international Matt Giteau sits down with RugbyPass in the latest episode of Rugby World Cups Memories
Comments on RugbyPass
“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
3 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.
2 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…??? 🤑🤑🤑
3 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
3 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)
3 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?
2 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.
4 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.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to comments