1
What Jones makes of North vs South debate following Autumn Nations
With the 2021 Autumn Nations Series now over, there has been much debate since the last weekend about what the results mean for northern hemisphere sides compared to the rival teams from the southern hemisphere, but it’s a debate that England boss Eddie Jones doesn’t have any time for.
ADVERTISEMENT
The All Blacks were beaten on successive Saturdays by Ireland and France, the Wallabies lost to Scotland and Wales inside six days while Jones’ own England side prevented the Springboks from finishing their European tour unbeaten with an 80th-minute penalty from Marcus Smith proving decisive at Twickenham last Saturday.
With the next World Cup just 22 months away from starting in France, the November results are being used as evidence that the northern hemisphere can be optimistic about what might unfold at a tournament where eight of the nine previous winners have hailed from the south, England the only exception with their 2003 victory.
The pool draw for 2023 has pitted France versus the All Blacks, Ireland versus the Springboks, Wales against the Wallabies to name just some of the group stage fixtures, but the England coach Jones has insisted he has never been a coach who has looked at international rugby results from a two-hemisphere perspective.
“I am not too concerned about the northern hemisphere,” he said when asked what the Autumn Nations Series results meant for the Six Nations teams compared to their Rugby Championship rivals. “The only thing I am concerned about is England and I know we are going to be in a better position after the Six Nations because we will keep improving.
"You sensed it would be epic for the moment you stepped out at Twickenham rail station…"
– @heagnel ??? on a classic England rugby day that will live long in the memory#England #ENGvRSA #AutumnNationsSeries #Springbokshttps://t.co/UJEwrjIowN
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 20, 2021
“I am not a big northern, southern hemisphere person having coached in both of them,” continued the former Wallabies 2003 World Cup boss who was a consultant for the Springboks at the finals four years later. “They come up here in November and the southern hemisphere teams have always operated like club teams. They basically get together at the end of Super Rugby and they are together until November so they have that opportunity, they have a long period of time together which is an advantage but there is also a disadvantage.
“They are playing at the end of a season that for most of them probably started in February or March. There are the pros and cons of it. When England go to Australia in July 2022 we are going there on the back of a season that started in September for the players but we will also have the opportunity to have time together on tour which is invaluable so that is the positive. The negative is you have got a bit of fatigue.
ADVERTISEMENT
“But the other overriding factor in all of those pros and cons is that the Covid situation has presented problematic team environments. We are so lucky to be able to play a high-level sport in such a difficult time but given the restriction of the team environments sometimes it gets difficult for the players,” continued Jones, who headed to France on Monday on a recce of the facilities there for the 2023 World Cup.
“You think about South Africa, they have been on the road away from home for at least 18 weeks so that does present some challenges and there may be some mental fatigue that gets exacerbated by those conditions. We certainly found the last Six Nations as a team very difficult with the restrictions we had in the team environment so that puts another layer on that equation.”
England are set for a three-match series away to the Wallabies next summer, Ireland are due to play the same amount of games away to the All Blacks as are Wales when they visit the Springboks and Scotland who are set to play in Argentina.
Comments on RugbyPass
I don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
4 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
24 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
24 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
24 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
24 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
9 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
9 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
28 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
24 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
28 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
24 Go to comments