'Such a gift': Eddie Jones on advantage South Africa hold over rivals

Eddie Jones has hailed South Africa’s 32-17 win over France in Paris as a masterclass in resilience and depth, saying the Springboks’ latest triumph underlines why they remain the standard-bearers of Test rugby.

Speaking on the Rugby Unity podcast, the Japan head coach said the world champions’ ability to dismantle Fabien Galthié’s side despite playing half the match with 14 men was further proof of their unrivalled mental toughness.

Jones’ Japan were last week on the receiving end of a South Africa hammering, but had no problems giving credit to the world champions.

“They scored 32 against France with 14 men,” Jones said. “It puts into perspective our [Japan] game, where they scored 60 with 15 and were playing at ‘home,’ because they consider London a home venue.”

Lood de Jager’s red card late in the first half might have broken most teams, but instead the Boks produced three unanswered tries in the final 20 minutes to secure their biggest win over France in the French capital since 1997.

It followed their 61-7 thrashing of Japan a week earlier, a result that Jones admits looks different now in the context of what the same South African side did to the world’s fifth-ranked team in Paris.

“Playing at the Stade de France is a pretty intimidating atmosphere – but not for the South Africans,” Jones added.

The Australian was particularly impressed with the Boks’ versatility and their ability to adapt on the fly after losing a key forward. When De Jager was dismissed, captain Siya Kolisi was sacrificed for replacement lock Ruan Nortje, and later André Esterhuizen covered multiple roles as the backline reshuffled.

“One of the big trends from the weekend was the power of the bench — the power of your finishers — and how much influence they can have.

“Having players who can cover multiple positions is such a gift for a coach,” said Jones. “It gives a team real flexibility. South Africa’s depth is probably better than anyone’s, and that’s what allows them to finish games so strongly.

“That’s a real credit to them.

“Your ability to build depth in a squad is what allows that flexibility. South Africa have it. Every other country is trying to build it.

“Every team is trying to find a way to increase depth. Ireland had their A team playing Spain on the screens while we were upstairs after the Test — they’re driving a big campaign to build depth, just like New Zealand and England. You used to need three players per position; now you probably need five.”