If you’re going to finish a calendar
year unbeaten then you might as well do it in enthralling fashion. Saturday
afternoon’s Test match against Australia was always going to be hard-fought and
tense but the fact that England came back from such a slow start made the victory even more impressive.
As we all saw Eddie Jones’ side weren’t
at the races early doors and it looked like the occasion, and what was on the
line, had uncharacteristically unsettled them. Yet they regained their composure,
clawed their way back into the match and then went through the gears. The best sides
in the world fix things on the move and England did just that. It was a sign of
their maturity as a group and a function of the work that they’ve put in together over
the past twelve months.
Naturally many of were wondering what
words were said during the half-time break and Eddie Jones shared that his
messages were clear and to the point:
“We
just had to make a choice whether we wanted to really work hard. Sometimes you
talk about working hard and you don't work hard and we weren't working hard
enough off the ball. We weren't working hard enough on the gain-line and we
just had to work that little bit harder. Do the basics well.
“We
did that in the second half. We started to stop them at the gain-line, the big
number eight didn't carry so much over the line and that put them under
pressure in attack. When they're under pressure in attack they gave us mistakes
and gave us some points. Then when we had the opportunity to attack in their
half I thought we did it quite well. We looked after the ball a bit better.”
Composure, resilience and his
side’s ability to adapt were all areas that impressed Eddie Jones on Saturday afternoon yet even with an unbeaten year safely in the bank the
Australian isn’t shouting from the rooftops or even breaking into a big smile:
“We're
progressing. We can't get too ahead of ourselves. We're only the number two
team in the world and we want to be number one. We've got a long way to go
before we achieve that and we're hell-bent on achieving that. We've got the
talent here. It's just whether we get the desire and cohesion right. That's
what we're aiming to do.”
This is exactly the type of reaction that
you’d expect from the 56-year-old and his viewpoint on the situation is one of the reasons why
England are progressing forwards on such a marked upward trajectory. If he, and
the squad, believed that it was job done right here and now then they’d be found
out very quickly. Instead there’s actually still an element of frustration and ‘what
if’ surrounding their autumn series. Yes England finished the final four games of year unbeaten and did so without a number of key players but they don’t believe that
we saw four complete Test match performances.
As England continue forwards
comparisons with the side of 2003 will naturally rear their heads but Eddie
Jones believes the class of 2016 aren’t close to that famous England side, yet:
“The
2003 side were a much better side than we are at the moment. They had a very
consistent scrum and line-out, we don’t have that yet but we are getting there
but they were a much better side than we are.
“We
have got until the 2nd November 8pm Japan time 2019 to get ready and that is
what we are aiming at – we have got to be at our best that night. It is 1020
days. Every day counts. If players don’t challenge themselves they won’t be
here and that is the reality of it.”
As I’ve said this uncompromising and
unrelenting desire to improve is required and right however let’s just take a
moment to acknowledge the last twelve months. A year ago English rugby was at its
lowest point, so many of these players were hurting beyond belief and throwing themselves back
into club rugby or a holiday to get over the anguish of an unsuccessful Rugby World
Cup campaign. Yet now there’s a confidence, a belief and a feel-good factor around
the international set up. It is one that is born out of this group of players winning regularly
and doing so safe in the knowledge that there's more to come.
Throughout 2016 selection has been
consistent and as a result combinations have flourished. The driving axis of
Ben Youngs, George Ford and Owen Farrell has been the heartbeat of their output
from the first minute of the year until the last minute. Chris Robshaw has excelled and work himself at a rate that few in the world game can match, Billy Vunipola has flown and is fast approaching world-class while England's depth at lock is the envy of many nations. Vitally the leadership of
Dylan Hartley outstanding, he's a players' captain and one with outstanding man management skills in terms of his relationship with England's management and the officials on the field. Those that questioned Hartley’s ability to captain
his country now look slightly foolish because he has lead with distinction and driven their success. On Saturday night England’s players were enjoying a beer or two in the changing rooms and rightly so because they’ve earned it. 2016 has been an outstanding year for England Rugby and personally I cannot wait for them to get back together at the end of January and throw themselves into the RBS 6 Nations. There's still so much more to come from this squad and it's going to be fascinating to witness the next steps on the road to 2019.
