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Jones and Farrell: England 'best thing' for Saracens players
Eddie Jones believes England’s Six Nations campaign can help his Saracens players deal with the ramifications of relegation from the Gallagher Premiership for the club’s repeated salary cap breaches.
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Jones will use Saracens relegation to the Championship to motivate the seven players affected by the controversy, including captain Owen Farrell. “It is a massive opportunity,” said Jones. “For the Saracens players the chance to come to England is the best thing for them to do what they love doing – playing rugby. Who do they love playing for? Their club – well they are not playing for their club they are playing for the country they love. It is the best thing for them. For the rest of the team it an opportunity to get tighter.”
Farrell was at pains to emphasise that England’s contingent of Saracens players would not be distracted by the ramifications of relegation and agreed “massively” with Jones’s take on the situation as the squad prepared to head to Portugal for a training camp.
Andy Farrell, the Ireland head coach and father of Owen, is adamant Jones will use the Saracens situation to generate a positive reaction for England who start their Six Nations campaign against a young French side whose defence is now being marshalled by Shaun Edwards, the former British and Irish Lions and Wales defence expert.
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WATCH: England coach Eddie Jones says he wants the team to be “the greatest team the rugby world has ever seen” following his announcement of the team’s Six Nations squad.
Edwards has been ordered to make France more aggressive in this key area in his new role heading into the Six Nations championship opener with England on February 2 in Paris.
The former rugby league great helped Wales become Europe’s top team with his defence absolutely vital to head coach Warren Gatland who spent more than a decade in that role before heading back to New Zealand. Edwards opted to take his skills to France and has learnt the language to get his message over to the French players who have been hampered by indiscipline and a lack of cohesion in recent seasons.
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The French captain doesn't see a spill-over into England's Six Nations from the Saracens scandal 🇫🇷 https://t.co/aeEw7xZgRm
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However, new coach Fabien Galthie has put his faith in Edwards and said at the Six Nations launch in London: “While he’s been with us for two months, he brings something different, he brings his own culture. He was a great rugby player and he went to become a coach with Wales.
“He brings defensive experience. He wants us to focus on being more aggressive in defence. We will keep our defensive system from the World Cup but adding that element.
New France captain Charles Ollivon on Edwards: “Shaun has brains and personality, he has a lot of energy and experience. He brings a lot of accuracy in terms of skills.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The side is good but lacks experience. International playing bona fides udually trumps super rugby form for good reason. And incumbents are usually stuck with. Codie Taylor should start or come off the bench. B Barrett will start at fullback. Blackadder has not earned the position, Finau has. TJs experience and competitiveness earns him a starting role, Christie or Ratima off the bench
4 Go to commentsPretty good side. Scott Barrett should be the captain. Ethan Blackadder a great choice at blindside. He is going to go from strength to strength having made a couple of starts for the Crusaders. Scott Robertson rates him highly. Perenara could start a no 9.
4 Go to commentsI question and with respect. Was enough done over the last few years to bring through new blood knowing the Whitelocks and co couldn’t last forever. There should have been more done to future proof the team. New squad new coach, he and they weren’t set up well. IMO
6 Go to commentsJacobsen will definitely be in the 23
4 Go to commentsLots of discussion points, Ben, but two glaring follies IMO: 1. Blackadder at 6. Has done nothing so far this season to justify his selection. Did you see him going backwards in contact at the weekend? Simply has not got the physical presence at 6: we need a Scott Barrett or a Finau (or wildcard Ah Kuoi), beasts who are big enough to play lock, like Frizzell. If Barret played at 6, Paddy could be joined at lock by Vai’i or one of the young giants we need to promote, like Darry or Lord (if he ever gets on the field). Blackadder best left to join the queue for 7. 2. Not even a mention for Christie? Ratima gets caught at crucial times at the back of the ruck when he hesitates on the pass. The only way he starts would be if Christie and TJ are injured.
4 Go to commentsWhat a dagg in more ways than one
6 Go to commentsRegroup come back next year but sack some of the coaching team and don't be like the ABs last minute sacking. If Crusaders don't do well ABs don't do well.
5 Go to commentsProctor Definitely inform again this year had a hell of a season last year and this year is looking even better. Still mixed feelings about Ioane tho.
4 Go to commentsDagg is still trying to get enough headlines to make himself relevant enough to get a job. The Crusaders went back to square one at all levels. Shelve this season and nail the next one.
6 Go to commentsHe was in such great form. Sad for him but only a short term injury and it will be great to see him back for the finals.
1 Go to commentsAfter their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
5 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
3 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
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