‘Eddie Jones is a master of distraction’ – Gail Davis
England head coach Eddie Jones was at his “mischievous best” on Tuesday as he alleged there was somebody spying on their training session.
Jones, who was speaking to the media today five days before the Rugby World Cup semi-final against New Zealand, came out on the offensive.
He alleged that there was someone filming from an adjacent apartment block overlooking their training and it was obvious they were doing it.
“There was definitely someone in the apartment block [across from the training ground] filming, it might have been a Japanese fan,” he said.
“We knew from the start that they were filming and it doesn’t change anything we do.”
Jones did not send security to investigate the matter and Sky Sports reporter Gail Davis believes the coach is starting the mind-games early ahead of facing the All Blacks, revealing that it is unusual for the England head coach to sit at press conferences so early in a game week.
“Eddie Jones is a master of distraction,” she said. “This week he wants all of the pressure away from his players and on him, hence a very timely spying story. He wants his players to be absolutely in the right place for one of the biggest games of their careers on Saturday.”
Jones continued in the press conference that he believes the weight of expectation is on the All Blacks’ shoulders ahead of the showdown.
“I don’t think they are vulnerable, but pressure is a real thing,” Jones said.
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“The busiest bloke in Tokyo this week will be Gilbert Enoka, the (New Zealand team) mental skills coach.
“They have to deal with all this pressure of winning the World Cup three times and it is potentially the last game for their greatest coach and their greatest captain. They will be thinking about those things.”
He added: “No one thinks we can win. There are 120 million Japanese people out there whose second team are the All Blacks. We’ve just got to have a great week, enjoy it, relax. If we’re good enough, we’ll win; if we’re not good enough, we’ve done our best.
“New Zealand talk about walking towards pressure, well this week the pressure is going to be chasing them down the street.”
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