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Jones quickly starts England build-up to Wales with Stereophonics reference and Llanelli 'stadium' quip

By Liam Heagney
(Photo by Dan Mullan/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

Eddie Jones mentioned The Stereophonics and referenced the unusual use of Llanelli as a Test match venue as England moved on from their comfortable home win over Ireland and swiftly began the build-up to next Saturday’s Autumn Nations Cup game away to Wales.  

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The 2019 World Cup finalists are enjoying a six-match winning run that has taken them to Six Nations glory and put them top of their Nations Cup group in recent weeks, form in stark contrast to Wales who snapped their six-game losing streak with a dour 18-0 win over Georgia.     

With an assignment against Wales next on their list, England boss Jones didn’t hang about switching the focus to next weekend after the Irish were easily sent packing on an 18-7 scoreline. 

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Dylan Hartley and Simon Zebo talk Autumn Nations Cup

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Dylan Hartley and Simon Zebo talk Autumn Nations Cup

“Wales is going to be a tough game for us,” insisted Jones. “We know that is their game of the year. They have had a tough run lately and they will be up for that game, so we will need to have a good short, intense preparation for that game. 

“We are playing at a ground which is not a stadium, which is unusual to play Test rugby. It will be open to the elements a bit more, so we need to prepare really well,” he said before making his musical reference.  

“They [Wales] are always different against us. They wrote a song [As long as we beat the English] about it in 1999 about how the only game that counts is beating England, so we are anticipating a different animal next Saturday and we need to prepare well to be right for them.”

Jones was in an upbeat mood after beating Ireland, refusing to take criticism that England had failed to build on the 18-0 lead they enjoyed 52 minutes into the game at Twickenham. “I’m never disappointed when we beat Ireland. You [the media] can be disappointed, I’m not. I know how hard it is to beat Ireland, I know how hard the boys worked to beat Ireland. 

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“We have been beaten by them and it’s not a good feeling. So we have got a real good feeling in our dressing room, they probably haven’t got a real good feeling in their dressing room. You can be disappointed, mate, but I’m not. 

“That is how he game goes,” he added. “Sometimes it flows your way, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes the elements of the game go against you. We had a considerable advantage in the penalties in the first half and for some reason that changed in the second so it allowed them to get a lot of field position and a lot of ball so we had to defend.”

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Sam T 2 hours ago
Jake White: Let me clear up some things

I remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.

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Ed the Duck 9 hours ago
How Leinster neutralised 'long-in-the-tooth' La Rochelle

Hey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂

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