Opinion: Five busted myths about England and what Eddie Jones needs to do before Rugby World Cup

James While 22 Mar 2022 10:17 AM

The knives are out. The RFU have circled the wagons. The fans are in the highest of dudgeon on social media and England appear to be only the third best team in Europe after a somewhat nonplussing Six Nations campaign.

But what is the real truth of this scenario? Where does the blame lie, and, most importantly, what needs to be done?

Planet Rugby features writer James While first studies five busted myths about the England camp at the current time.

England have the biggest player pool

A popular misperception; both South Africa and France have considerably more players. Allied to this is the question of qualified players in the Premiership. To give this context, Round 19 had 24 club centres on display; only seven of these were English qualified. The simple truth is that anyone close to an international cap has been looked at and assessed in detail.

Further, the amount of squad time head coach Eddie Jones enjoys with his charges is considerably less than that of any other Home Union. He has no ability to dictate the playing style narrative to the Premiership coaches in the way Andy Farrell and Gregor Townsend do. His position is a confrontational one of us and them.

Jones keeps playing players out of position

There is an element of truth in this, but there’s also a lot of misunderstanding. As an example, Courtney Lawes has started precisely two matches as a lock in three seasons. He confesses to not wanting to play there and has produced world class display after world class display on the flank. It makes not a jot of difference as to the shirt numbers of the back-row – providing the skill set of tackle, jackal, carry and support are all available. The notion of an eight, openside and blindside in the traditional sense is blown open by France who play left flank and right flank, with a smaller eight. They don’t conform to traditional perceptions, but the skill balance is there. As an aside, they also gain in scrummage continuity by having the same prop/flanker combinations at every scrum.

In the three-quarters, the debate absolutely stagnates around shirt numbers, which are totally subservient to the blend of skills picked. Players are not chess pieces and they have legs, enabling them to change where they are standing in defence or attack. It really makes little difference if Henry Slade wears 12 or 13 – it’s more so about the others picked around him filling any skill gap. The truth of this matter is more down to the paucity of power available and the legion of injuries on the wing.

It is much truer to say Jones has attempted to get proven Test players onto the pitch and that shoehorning them all in has resulted in imbalance of pace and power. That is not necessarily a positional issue – it’s a skill blend issue.

He won’t pick X, Y or Z

Given the lack of time Jones has with his squad (the given reason why Clive Woodward resigned) the notion that he can react instantly to form selection is hopeful at best, incorrect at worst. It takes a lot of time to bed any player into a Test match strategy play book and the idea that players can be parachuted in to a team structure at the drop of a hat is wholly wrong.

The key is to get the January selection right and hope for an injury-free season.

You might argue that Joe, Fred or Stan could do better, but the key word there is ‘could’. Most alternative selections require a leap of faith to see them working and there are very few (if any – but we’ll come to that later) stand out players that Jones is not including in his wider planning.

Yes, there are positional problems, but ensuring that new players are dropped into the system in a manner that allows them to succeed is pivotal for both the player and the team and to achieve that, Jones needs time.

RFU need to find a new coach

Easily said, but harder to do. Firstly, any worthwhile candidate is in contract already and therefore not available. The leading candidates are released after the 2023 Rugby World Cup and in any case, Jones himself has announced he will leave the role. He needs to be part of the recruitment of his successor.

Secondly, Jones’ win record as England head coach is peerless – standing currently at 78%. He has earned the right to stay through to 2023.

The selection of his successor needs to be made calmly, accurately and with certainty of choosing the best available candidate for the job – none of which can be achieved by firing someone for the sake of firing them with no obvious plan in place.

The analogy is simple; the performance is lacking in outcome but solid in commitment. Any other employee would be supported to succeed and this is precisely the approach that’s now needed from the RFU, the rugby media and the rugby watching public. The piece lacking is the RFU support mechanism of qualified mentors to give Jones good counsel and compelling informed challenge.

Eddie doesn’t have a plan

Absolute rot. His strategy for the France game was inventive, meticulous and wasn’t that far away from success. His attention to detail around England’s kicking game and around neutering France’s kicking game was outstanding, and both of the selections question in the lead up (Freddie Steward on the wing and George Furbank at full-back) did well on the night.

His intellect to get his one power carrier into the game from the full-back support runner slot was clever and resulted in 100 metres of thundering carry from Ellis Genge.

The only questions that can be asked is if Jones is delivering his plans with the simplicity and clarity that he first gave when he was originally appointed. Unavailabilites and the lack of positional depth may have convoluted his own precision in message and perhaps he needs to revert back to a directive, clear methodology to get his points across.

Taking the above into consideration, providing there’s a grain of truth in the assessments made, then Jones (and the RFU) need to look at a number of issues in order to progress. Here’s five things that might see a change in fortune.

Remove mediocrity

There’s a host of good players in the England squad; the issue is, they’re precisely that – merely good, not outstanding and not world class. There needs to be a cull of those players that simply flatter to deceive or are not good enough. Charlie Ewels, Elliot Daly, Jack Nowell, Nick Isiekwe, Sam Simmonds, Ben Youngs and Sam Underhill are simply not good enough to create momentum in this side.

As an example, singling out Underhill will cause raised eyebrows amongst many and he is somewhat of a folk hero for his eye catching tackles, but yet again, against France, he was annihilated at the breakdown by the French back-row. He doesn’t support runners, he doesn’t score tries, and whilst his hit count is admirable, his selection is poor and his control of the contact area is remarkably sub par.

People might point to his 17 tackles, without realising that only one of those tackles prevented continuity. His work in the build-up to the Francois Cros try contained a pointless hit which prevented him competing in the subsequent breakdown – three men behind to hit Cyrill Baille, he needed to step across to compete at the next ruck, where Cros scored. Then, a world class back-rower scores a try every five Tests or so (Sam Cane, Richard Hill, Neil Back, Lawrence Dallaglio, Ardie Savea, Michael Hooper, Charles Ollivon etc). Underhill clocks one per 30 games, which is substandard.

Slade too is becoming an issue. Notwithstanding he’s tried to do a job at 12, even from broken field he’s been anonymous and that isn’t down to ‘having to play at 12’; often he stands at 13, 14 or 15, and he’s not bound by numerical convention to stay in a conventional line – he needs to find the ball, not wait for it to come to him. With only 14 matches before France 2023, England only have a small window to replace these good servants with players with more potential.

Eight players to focus on

England have to learn to play without Manu Tuilagi and accept that if he is fit, it’s a bonus. That means sorting out 12 and sorting out gainline carrying.

Many believe that once Jones has made up his mind in regard to a player, wild horses won’t change it. However, in the case of two men, David Ribbans and Alex Lowzowski, their performances demand he gives the benefit of the doubt and offers them a chance to shine. Ribbans offers a nose for the try line, huge athleticism and wide channel support play, three things England are in short supply of in the back five. Bolt on the buzzing Wasp, Alfie Barbeary and you now have the carriers England so sorely need.

Elsewhere, every Premiership coach will tell you of the power in loose and scrum of Val Rapava-Ruskin. The guy is a machine in terms of brute strength and, although loosehead is the least of England’s worries, a player of this calibre must be given a look at. In the backline, pace is the scarce commodity and in Ollie Hassell-Collins, Paolo Odogwu and Joe Cokanasiga, England have three players capable of transforming their backline.

Above all, England must never go into a Test again without a strike gas man somewhere in their backline. All three listed offer that in depth and all of them are great in broken field situations.

However, the player that holds the key, the man that could be the most important cog in England’s engine could very well be Jack Willis. No other back-row has the completeness of skillset in both attack and defence that Willis has – he beats men, he supports, scores tries and is world class at the breakdown. His fitness is essential to England.

Age is a number

There’s 18 months to the Rugby World Cup. If players are in form, pick them regardless of age. No current Premiership player will be unavailable due to age so form should be the only consideration.

Here at Planet Rugby, we’ve been critical of Billy Vunipola in the past, but without a midfield carrier his 130kgs of power would transform the England gainline presence and right now, he’s needed.

With Marcus Smith the anointed one at 10, the conflicts between Jones and Danny Care are literally affecting the potential to win a World Cup. No nine offers more nous and common sense that the impish Quin and he might yet win a recall.

Elsewhere, on a Wasps theme, when Lawes isn’t fit, Brad Shields is the leader, lineout specialist and grafter that could almost be a like for like replacement. Shields will be 32 when Paris comes around, he might be half a yard short of pace, but around the breakdown, nobody is a more effective deliverer of the dark arts of ruck time.

At 13, England’s finest moves in the last 10 years all seem to have featured Jonathan Joseph – yes, he’s difficult and is his own man, but at Test level, his strike rate of 17 tries in 51 matches for England is absolutely in the elite category. He is out of favour, but his ability remains.

Complete and finish

The vast majority of England’s issues take place in the last 15 metres of the pitch. Versus Ireland, they managed 17 seconds in their opponents’ 22. Given that time scale, it’s little wonder they don’t threaten the line much.

There’s a frustrating combination of things happening that derails the English attack.

1. Players run away from support, the loose supporters can’t get their quick enough and they get turned over. The solution is not to go for the miracle run but be patient and be prepared to go through controlled phases to get over the line.

2. Confusion – this might manifest itself in terms of over-eagerness, a desire to bosh to success or sheer bullying belligerence. What England don’t do is play the same way in their opponents 22 as they do in the rest of the field. A calm head, the ability to think under pressure and execute simple skills would work well. If in doubt watch again the French build-up to the Cros try – wave of runners taking small gains around the corner with support.

3. Penalty advantage – the number of times England go for a miracle play when they have a red zone penalty advantage is concerning. There’s no need to do anything more than stick to the same plan as before – with the insurance policy that you have a penalty if you fail. Calm and precise attack, rather than looking for the miracle play under advantage, is the hallmark of Ireland, France and New Zealand. It’s a simple concept but one that requires self-belief to succeed.

If England examine these simple points, bolt on support from back-row, augment with carries and pace from midfield, the result will be transformational. Patience is one of the keys to great attack and one often overlooked in the heat of battle.

Be clear, Eddie

When Jones first took the England job, he transformed an underperforming side with a simple back to basics approach. The Australian’s superpower is his simplicity of message and clarity of discussion. If ever you are in the fortunate position to receive an email from him, the brevity and directness of his words are staggering. You are left in no misapprehension as to what he means.

There’s a feeling that he may just have got caught up in his own web of words with the media – that he’s become bloody minded to those that confront him and that, in itself, is distracting him from his core duty. England need to act – send out a message he’s here to stay and to quit the speculation. From that, Jones can then return to simplicity, basics and clarity, the three hallmarks of his coaching that in recent times may well have become diluted.

For those fortunate enough to spend time interviewing Jones in recent times, the words ‘you in the media’ or ‘you think’ are emanating from his lips on too many occasions. Jones attacks those that confront him and already this season, he’s cut off all relations with one particular rugby writer, which is simply nuts. He is creating a them and us situation and the constant criticism of his tenure is clearly irking him.

Many moons ago, Graham Henry once commented ‘they don’t think you’re good enough, hard enough or skilful enough- I know, because I’m one of them’. Jones is almost following this dictate, with the unfortunate consequence that players and others pick up on his distrust.

Complete empathy and a detente regarding weaponising press conferences must take place immediately, as to succeed, Jones needs the support of everyone.

England Eddie Jones