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'The best coach I've played under': Eddie Jones reappointment earns rave review from Kiwi-born star

By Online Editors
(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

England halfback Willi Heinz has endorsed the reappointment of Eddie Jones, labelling the England boss as “the best coach I’ve played under”.

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Jones signed a contract extension with the Rugby Football Union last week in a deal that will see him guide England through to the 2023 World Cup in France.

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Heinz was selected as one of two halfbacks in Jones’ squad for the World Cup in Japan last year, with the New Zealand-born product qualifying for England through his grandmother.

The 33-year-old only made his debut for his adopted nation in a warm-up fixture against Wales at Twickenham, and went on to feature regularly throughout the tournament en route to England’s runners-up finish to South Africa in the final.

Despite his brief stint in the national set-up, Heinz lathered Jones in praise in an interview with The Rugby Paper.

“All I can say on behalf of the squad about Eddie is that we love the environment he creates,” he said.

“He’s certainly the best coach I’ve played under in terms of attention to detail and the support he provides. It’s a challenging environment but with that comes all that support and he makes sure you’re in the best possible place to execute on any given day.”

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Heinz’s claim isn’t one to be taken lightly given that the former Crusaders and Canterbury halfback has been coached by All Blacks contender Scott Robertson as well as Todd Blackadder.

He has also found himself under the stewardship of Australian veteran Laurie Fisher and ex-Lions coach Johan Ackermann during his time at Gloucester.

Heinz noted that Jones had earned the respect of his players because of the way he had resurrected England in the lead-up to the World Cup, which was followed by a strong showing in this year’s Six Nations before its suspension last month.

“I know England had a run of losses in 2018 but apart from that he’s done amazing things with this team. To get to a World Cup final was impressive and although we lost that and then came back and dropped another game against France, since then our consistency has been good and that’s down to the environment he creates,” Heinz told The Rugby Paper.

“The players have a ton of respect for him and one of the things I’ve really noticed since being involved are the one-on-one relationship he seems to have with guys in the squad

“The relationships are there, you can see it in the conversations he has, and with 30-40 players to deal with he puts so much time into it.”

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Bull Shark 2 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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