So the next stop
for Eddie Jones and England Rugby is Argentina, match three of this four match
autumn series and of course it could be win number twelve under Eddie Jones' charge.
While I'm sure that deep down the Australian likes to make history he has made it clear that he and the side aren't motivated by breaking winning-records.
Instead, their goal is plain and simple and that's 'to become the number one team
in the world' and each game now is building towards their goal and Rugby World Cup 2019.
As we all know Argentina
present a slightly different challenge to that of Fiji or South Africa and also
they are a side that have evolved over recent years. Traditionally it was all
about their scrummage and truth be told not a lot else, but now we've seen them
develop an impressive style of rugby. Argentina in full flow are lovely to
watch with their passion, pace and flair in attack and it's a style that England's
head coach certainly appreciated during the recent Rugby Championship:"We are playing a very good side that we know if they scent any sense of complacency in us, they’ll be all over us like a rash. They’ve got talented players and evolved their game nicely over the last four or five years. They were probably the second best team in the Rugby Championship.
"They’ve played some fantastic rugby. Any team that stretches the All Blacks for 50 minutes is a really good team and they did that with some wonderful rugby."
While I've no doubt in my mind that Argentina are a very good side I wouldn't be surprised if stating the above so overtly also had one eye on next week's match too because let's face it Australia aren't going to like being put underneath the bottom side in the recent competition that they just took a part in!
So what
must England do in order to counter this evolving side and game plan? Well much
can be said for exerting themselves on the game early and really throwing the
weight of their winning run and confidence about. Dylan Hartley and his side have an
impressive history of matches behind them and that should create a quiet aura that
goes with them. Here I'm not talking about arrogance or complacency, instead I'm talking
about confidence and self belief. England's form is hot right now and they
still have a burning desire to deliver a performance that they feel is more complete
than we've seen this autumn. In short England have to use those factors to their
advantage and make Argentina nervous from the outset.In terms of Eddie Jones' key asks that he wants to see from the side at Twickenham Stadium then he has split them into three key areas:
"First thing against Argentina is that it's a test of your manhood. They are physical guys they want to pack you under the scrum, the maul, the breakdown. You go to Argentina, you have a big steak, don't you? It's all about being physical. That's our first test. We've got no issue with that, we know that's coming
"The second part is we've got to be opportunistic because Argentina have a defence that sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't work. We've got to be aware of the space and take that very quickly
"The third thing our defence has to be absolutely suffocating."
England's XV is a largely familiar
one as Mike Brown, Jonny May, Tom Wood and George Kruis return into the
starting line-up. The large talking point this week has been Semesa
Rokoduguni's exclusion (not for the first time) but England's head coach is
clear. The Bath winger wasn't his man of the match and has 'areas of his game
to work on' and he'll do so back at Bath. Elliot Daly has retained a spot out wide and
he has been given license to roam. If you watched the match against Fiji back then you'll
have noticed his ability to pick and choose key moments to come off his wing
and the same will be expected of him this weekend. The vision of George Ford and Owen Farrell is such that Daly's endaveour will be spotted and made the most of so I expect the 24-year-old to have another big game.As ever Dylan Hartley's role will be key for England, his leadership is outstanding and given the amount that Argentina channel through Agustin Creevy England's captain's strength at the set piece must come to the fore too. Tom Wood returns to add his considerable work rate to the back row and even though George Kruis has been on the sidelines for a short time I don't expect to see him blowing or off the boil because he's such an impressive operator in the second-row.
Argentina have already said that
they need to deliver the 'best game possible' in order to try and get at
England. We've seen the Pumas do so before at the Rugby World Cup against Ireland, their autumn has been a little more stuttering, but
there's no doubt that they can do it. England cannot under-estimate Daniel Hourcade's side however complacency
is not a word that you associate with any of the England coaching staff, their
captain or these players so that should not be a problem.
This, according to Eddie Jones, is
the strongest side that he has selected this autumn and I expect them to show
us the same attacking flair that we saw against Fiji while really getting stuck
into Argentina's scrummage and set piece. Saturday afternoon will be about delivering on those three key areas that Eddie Jones identified and making another step forwards
towards the complete 80 minute performance that we know that they are striving
for.
