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Secret strategy: Eddie Jones reveals the trick that took down the All Blacks at 2019 World Cup
Eddie Jones has revealed the media warfare strategy he unleashed in an effort to destabilise the All Blacks before the 2019 Rugby World Cup semifinal.
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England demolished the All Blacks in Japan at the end of a week in which he claimed the All Blacks may have spied on his training sessions. He also labelled the New Zealand media as “fans with keyboards”, trying to coerce them into grilling the All Black coaches harder.
Jones said that the world’s best teams are so close physically and tactically that mental preparation is often the factor which decides the winning and losing of games.
“We wanted to try to put pressure on the New Zealand media, stir things up a bit, put some pressure on Steve Hansen during the week,” he said in an interview with Newstalk ZB‘s Martin Devlin.
Former Aussie and Japan boss Jones indicated managing the media message had become an even bigger part of his strategy since taking over at England.
Jones produced a telltale giggle when asked if he was ever going to reveal who the spy might have been. At the time, he said England’s security had spotted someone with a long lens in an apartment.
“If you allow the media to run the race they will run the race,” Jones had told Devlin earlier.
“You’ve got to try and exert some control and get the messages you want out there. I want the players to hear messages that aid their performances.
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“We know that everything we say (publicly) as coaches the players do listen to, or someone in their family listens to it.
“You’ve got to continually reinforce with your team that the only noise which is important is the noise in the room.”
Jones described the All Blacks quarter-final win over Ireland as containing “some of the best rugby we’ve seen – they were absolutely brilliant”.
“I watched that game again six weeks ago – they played some superb rugby,” he said.
TRANSFER: The England star appears to be staying. https://t.co/BzVduXllRE
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) June 14, 2020
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“(But) they had to get up again for us and England are seen as a team which always underperforms. The pressure was on New Zealand, there was less pressure on us.
“I couldn’t get it right for the South Africa game (England were thrashed in the final) – get them back up. You’re trying to manage the rhetoric.
“The more players hear (something) the more they believe it. It is the coach’s job to try and change that – it’s bloody hard.
“I needed to paint a stronger picture in the head of our players about how difficult the game was. But there’s always the risk of being too negative. It’s a fine line.”
RUGBY CHANGES
Jones said rugby had “sauntered” along in the professional era and needed changes to be sustainable.
In terms of rules, tacklers had been allowed too much latitude, slowing the game down.
“We’ve gone too far down the line of allowing contests to take over – we’ve gone away from being hard on the tackler rolling away,” he said.
RETURN TO TOURS
There is a thirst for mini tours, of three tests and midweek games, Jones said, although the classic 10 or 12-week tour was a thing of the past.
“Three or four-week tours would be great for rugby – it’s a soap opera with the same characters in different situations.”
THE NEW WALLABY COACH
Australia had made a smart move, employing a Kiwi as coach. He said Dave Rennie was a “hard, uncompromising but caring guy”.
“They’ve got good players – he’ll get the right balance in the Australian side,” he said.
LOCKDOWN
He was impressed at how young players had proved doubters wrong in maintaining their fitness levels.
“The lockdown has taught me how much I love rugby and coaching,” he said.
“There are going to be economic changes, that’s a worldwide thing in every area of life.
“There will be smaller (rugby) squads and staff, movement of players for a period of time will be less.”
JOHN MITCHELL
His assistant Mitchell, the former All Black coach, was a changed man.
“He used to be a banging on the table type of coach, now he is much more caring, questioning and consultative type of coach.”
ADVANTAGE IAN FOSTER
With a new head coach in Ian Foster, the All Blacks could not regard their next meeting with England as a chance for World Cup revenge.
“With Foz in charge, there is no pressure on him. They can throw the ball from side to side, it will be a great game.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Beaches? 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.
2 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
1 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to commentsSabbaticals have helped keep NZ’s very best talent in the country on long term deals - this fact has been left out of this article. Much like the articles calling to allow overseas players to be selected, yet can only name one player currently not signed to NZR who would be selected for the ABs. And in the entire history of NZ players leaving to play overseas, literally only 4 or 5 have left in their prime as current ABs. (Piatau, Evans, Hayman, Mo’unga,?) Yes Carter got an injury while playing in France 16 years ago, but he also got a tournament ending injury at the 2011 World Cup while taking mid-week practice kicks at goal. Maybe Jordie gets a season-ending injury while playing in Ireland, maybe he gets one next week against the Brumbies. NZR have many shortcomings, but keeping the very best players in the country and/or available for ABs selection is not one of them. Likewise for workload management - players missing 2 games out of 14 is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Again let’s use some facts - did it stop the Crusaders winning SR so many times consecutively when during any given week they would be missing 2 of their best players? The whole idea of the sabbatical is to reward your best players who are willing to sign very long term deals with some time to do whatever they want. They are not handed out willy-nilly, and at nowhere near the levels that would somehow devalue Super Rugby. In this particular example JB is locked in with NZR for what will probably (hopefully) be the best years of his career, hard to imagine him not sticking around for a couple more after for a Lions tour and one more world cup. He has the potential to become the most capped AB of all time. A much better outcome than him leaving NZ for a minimum of 3 years at the age of 27, unlikely to ever play for the ABs again, which would be the likely alternative.
2 Go to commentsJake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
9 Go to commentsThe Springboks tried going down the road of only picking home-based players and it was an unmitigated disaster in 2016 and 2017. Picking overseas-based players has been one of the main reason the Boks have done so well since 2018, not only because of the quality Rassie could call on, but because of the knowledge and experience those players brought into camp from England, France and Japan. With some of the big names playing abroad it also gave younger players in SA the chance to break through at franchise level. Would we have seen the emergence of a Ruan Nortje if RG and Lood were still at the Bulls? Not so sure. I understand why Jake would want to block players leaving since his job depends on good results but it’s an approach that would take Bok rugby back to the bad old days and no South African wants to see that.
9 Go to commentsExeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
39 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to commentsHad hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”
11 Go to commentsWhat was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
39 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
86 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
86 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
14 Go to comments