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'He scared me' - John Mitchell's influence as England defence coach

By Online Editors
John Mitchell (right) with Dylan Hartley. Photo: Dan Mullan/Getty Images.

England defence coach John Mitchell has been praised for his role in making England a genuine World Cup threat by former England midfielder Will Greenwood.

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Greenwood, who won the World Cup in 2003, told Radio Sport that Mitchell was continually tweaking England’s defensive strategies in a grand scheme to make the Eddie Jones-coached side the most “ferocious defensive unit” on the planet.

“When Eddie Jones took over in January 2016, they wanted to make themselves the most ferocious defensive unit on the planet,” he said.

“They are not there yet but are doing a pretty passable impression of it at the moment. It is ferocious out there.

“Life is about iterations, tweaking, adapting. They are not changing anything massively. They wanted line speed and have worked on it really well.”

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Greenwood, capped 57 times internationally, was coached by Mitchell in the late 1990s when he assisted then-England head coach Sir Clive Woodward, and the 46-year-old revealed how intimidating the former All Blacks coach was.

“He used to always say ‘let the dog be the rabbit’ in a slightly different tone,” said Greenwood.

“It scared the living daylights out of me and certainly introduced to me what life was like in New Zealand in terms of the ferocity of your rucking. He was proper, proper tough.”

Following England’s impressive run in the Six Nations in the opening two rounds, Greenwood remained quietly optimistic of their World Cup chances come the end of the year, although he refused to discount the threats posed by New Zealand and Ireland.

“The All Blacks have set the bar in terms of of retaining credibility as the number one. Ireland had the most unbelievable year in 2018 but they are having a bit of a blip, a bit of a wobble.

“England were supercharged and went out and battered them on the gain line, but Ireland will come again.

“Ireland will finish the Six Nations strong and be ready for the World Cup. They had such a big year in 2018 and it is difficult to keep going to the well. But they will be a force to be reckoned with in Japan.

“I’ve upgraded England’s status — they will be in the semifinals and who can predict after that?”

Eddie Jones and Owen Farrell on facing Wales:

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Trevor 46 minutes ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 4 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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