Is the England Rugby Revival For Real?
Eddie Jones inherited a downtrodden team and turned them into Six Nations champions. But match-ups with Southern Hemisphere sides will be the true test of England’s rugby resurgence, writes Martyn Thomas.
Eddie Jones’ recent assessment of Chris Robshaw could be applied to the majority of his England squad. “To go from where he was at the end of the World Cup to where he is now,” the Australian coach mused, “has been a fine achievement.”
Indeed it has. England captain Robshaw and his team were forced to wear a considerable amount of flak as England became the first host nation to fall at the tournament’s pool stage.
“Disastrous” was the general consensus of a forgettable campaign while the BBC reasoned that Stuart Lancaster’s side had hit “a new rock bottom” as they bowed out after just 16 days.
Perceived problems were manifold, from the ill-fated dalliance with Sam Burgess, to a lack of bottle on the pitch and a muddled message off it. The prognosis for English rugby appeared gloomy.
However, less than six months later and with their first Six Nations title in five years safely secured, the grey skies that almost enveloped Twickenham have begun to brighten considerably.
Wales were dispatched in largely impressive fashion on Saturday as the national team secured the Six Nations title with a week to spare, thanks to Scotland’s defeat of France.
Sandwiched in between events in London and Edinburgh, 14,811 fans watched Saracens beat London Irish in New Jersey, as the Aviva Premiership attempted to woo America.
And why wouldn’t they, at a time when the English domestic game is riding the crest of a wave?
The Premiership has provided five of this season’s eight European Champions Cup quarterfinalists with a further four English sides set to contest the same stage of the Challenge Cup.
It would be hyperbole in the extreme to suggest that Eddie Jones’ arrival in south-west London is the root cause for such success, but his appointment as England coach did help draw a line under last autumn’s events.
That much was crystal clear at Twickenham as Wales were overwhelmed in the first 60 minutes, their much-vaunted defence missing 19 tackles in the first half alone.
Under Stuart Lancaster, England had a propensity to wilt under the pressure of big games and play within themselves. On the evidence of the Six Nations, that is not the case under his successor.
Jones has instilled an edge to their play that had been lacking. His decision to make Dylan Hartley captain could have backfired, but has instead been inspired, with the controversial hooker providing both the leadership and bite his Australian boss desired.
Unburdened by the pressure of captaincy, and moved across the back-row to the blindside, Hartley’s predecessor as skipper, Chris Robshaw, has also been a key component of England’s success.
Robshaw’s form and influence on the squad has been described as “absolutely outstanding” and “colossal” by Jones.
But it was another member of the pack who shone brightest against Wales. Maro Itoje (pictured) is 21 and was winning only his third cap, yet belied his inexperience with a faultless first 40 minutes that showcased his abilities in both attack and defence.
The Saracens man, who Jones wishes to “turn into a BMW” possesses a skill set not always associated with northern hemisphere forwards. His incredible potential has led Sir Clive Woodward to earmark him as a future captain.
But the 21-year-old is not the only young tyro that has been given opportunity under the new regime. Jack Clifford, Elliot Daly and Paul Hill have all made their debuts during this year’s championship, while Henry Slade would have been involved had he not broken his leg.
Jones has so far selected on form, not reputation, giving players up and down the country the belief they will be selected if they play well.
The bulk of the squad might be the same as the one that took the field at the World Cup but the tweaks Jones has made – making Hartley captain, switching Robshaw to No.6, bringing in Itoje – have been key to changing the dynamics of the side.
But Jones is well aware his job has only just begun.
Completing a clean sweep is the first task in hand. “We set out at the start of the year to be the most dominant side in Europe and to do that we have to win the Grand Slam,” Jones said on Monday.
A first English Grand Slam since 2003 would be well received at Twickenham, but it is just a start. His biggest test awaits at home, where Australia welcome England this summer.
The Wallabies put the final nail in Lancaster’s coffin – are England better equipped to prevail Down Under with Jones at the helm?
On paper, yes. But for all of the progress made over the last few weeks England still have weaknesses. Jones has not been able to magic up an openside flanker to worry Southern Hemisphere sides, while George Ford’s form at fly-half remains a concern.
Jones does have a large pool of extremely talented players to choose from but how many of them are world class? The man himself would have you believe none.
Billy Vunipola, Manu Tuilagi – who returned from injury against Wales – and Itoje have the potential to attain that status, and they will learn much from matches in the Wallabies’ backyard.
But Jones is right to plead caution; after all his mission is to win the 2019 World Cup, not the 2016 Grand Slam.
He will discover how tall a task may prove when the first test kicks off in Brisbane this June.
Comments on RugbyPass
Havili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
7 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
7 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar 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.
11 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.
61 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.
7 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
61 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 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
61 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 comments