As ever at Thursday's team announcement day Eddie Jones was on fine form and while a full match preview will be on the way before kick-off I’ll start the build up to this huge Round 2 match with a few of the Australian's key thoughts.
There’s plenty to discuss this week so here are his words regarding a number of key areas including Wales’ outing in Rome, his back row selection, 'that' roof and their expectations heading to the hostile environment that is Cardiff.
There’s plenty to discuss this week so here are his words regarding a number of key areas including Wales’ outing in Rome, his back row selection, 'that' roof and their expectations heading to the hostile environment that is Cardiff.
Wales in Rome
Round one saw Wales take a spot of time to gain full ascendancy against Italy after Conor O’Shea’s men had a strong opening half. As ever England's head coach gave his clear assessment of his opponents' initial outing:
“Howley’s starting to have more of an imprint on the team. They want to play in that more Welsh way, which involves passing and depth of the back line, which is traditionally the way Welsh teams used to play.
“It’s not dissimilar what Novès is doing with France. But I’m also impressed with changes they’ve made in their defence under Shaun Edwards. He’s been one of the foremost defence coaches in the world. He’s added the choice tackle to his team’s repertoire. They’re clearly improving their defence again.”
Adding to this England's head coach expects their opponents to show even more this weekend in Cardiff:
"I think now Howley is more embedded as head coach they speak about wanting to pass the ball more and regenerate that Welsh style of play that gets the fans so excited. I think Wales will still have that Gatland hardness about them in the forwards and carry it hard in the forwards but they’ll be looking to release their backs and play with a bit of width. Howley likes to pass the ball so I anticipate they’ll pass the ball more."
Back row selection
In Cardiff there will be 110 caps difference between England’s and Wales’ respective trios with Jack Clifford making only his second international start. Yet for Eddie Jones this isn’t an issue and instead the Australian is looking forward to seeing the unit deliver and his young seven make his mark:
“They’re the best back row we have for this game. Nathan Hughes has been playing well for us, doing well against Australia and France. Itoje and Clifford are young guys learning the ropes and what a great place to learn them – the Principality Stadium. There are some ropes there.
“Before Clifford was picked, everyone here was telling me he’s the best young player but now I pick him, he’s too inexperienced so I don’t see how you can win here. He’s a great young player and deserves the opportunity and now’s the best opportunity for him.”
The Roof
When it comes to discussions about the roof being open or closed I sit firmly in the category of 'let's mention it once and be done with it'. Of course questions regarding whether it would be open or closed were part of the live press conference but as they continued England's head coach replied with the following:
"Are we short of stories this week? Are we? If that’s the main story we’re struggling. Are we struggling that much?"
The Roof
When it comes to discussions about the roof being open or closed I sit firmly in the category of 'let's mention it once and be done with it'. Of course questions regarding whether it would be open or closed were part of the live press conference but as they continued England's head coach replied with the following:
"Are we short of stories this week? Are we? If that’s the main story we’re struggling. Are we struggling that much?"
His viewpoint on the matter was clear - he would make a decision when required to and that wasn't until later in the day on Thursday:
"The roof guys, if you want to talk about it I’m not interested. Seriously it’s not a priority. It will be a priority when the time comes to make a decision. I’ll talk to our staff, I’ll talk to our players and see what they prefer and then we’ll say. That’s our stance."
Of course the time came and Eddie Jones did make a decision - to keep it open - something that he clearly believes will benefit his team and potentially also throws a little curveball at Wales in the process.
"The roof guys, if you want to talk about it I’m not interested. Seriously it’s not a priority. It will be a priority when the time comes to make a decision. I’ll talk to our staff, I’ll talk to our players and see what they prefer and then we’ll say. That’s our stance."
Of course the time came and Eddie Jones did make a decision - to keep it open - something that he clearly believes will benefit his team and potentially also throws a little curveball at Wales in the process.
Local nuances - atmosphere and shenanigans
When it comes to experience then Eddie Jones has it in spades, without question it was one of the attributes that secured him the role in the first place. As a result of these experiences a little trip to Cardiff won't be giving him sleepless nights.
During the live press conference he openly discussed about being ready for 'shenanigans' and elaborated on that further afterwards highlighting that his team are fully prepared for whatever Wales may, or may not, throw at them:
During the live press conference he openly discussed about being ready for 'shenanigans' and elaborated on that further afterwards highlighting that his team are fully prepared for whatever Wales may, or may not, throw at them:
“We’ve had some great discussions [about what to expect]. We’ve got a nice mix of players – we’ve got some players who’ve had a lot of experience and players who’ve had no experience. We’ve encouraged the interaction between the players on what you have to do to cope.
“Wales to me are a bit like South Africa. They are countries where rugby is the main sport and the support is absolutely fever pitch. And the results affect the country, in South Africa’s case, and in Wales’ case, the principality. Rugby means such a lot - you go to those players and you feel that need to win, that urgency to want to win and to dismantle the opposition.
“You go to the hotel and unless you do things, players get rung incessantly through the night. Those things happen. You go to the ground and the traffic controller drives slower than the traffic’s going to make sure you’re late. You get to the ground and there’s something wrong with your dressing room – there’s lights off or the heaters switched off. Those things happen regularly in those sorts of countries. So the challenge for a team to play away is to be better than that.
“They’re things you can’t control. Once we go down the M4 and cross the Severn River we don’t control anything. The only thing we control is our own mental state and the way that we play the game. That’s how good sides are and the way we want to be. This week’s been a great learning experience for the team in understanding that. Whatever we do on Saturday, we’ll be better for it.”
Focused preparation
Directly after the game last week Eddie Jones highlighted that he had prepared the side incorrectly and heaped the blame for their slightly off-colour performance on his own shoulders. At the time he admitted that he didn't know quite what he had done wrong yet but that he would look at it and rectify the situation accordingly. Needless to say the Australian has tweaked their preparation this week and here's how;
"We got a few things wrong and I don’t think my coaching of the team was great. We’re building towards the World Cup, we want to win the Six Nations but we want to win the World Cup and we have got a number of strategies and different methodologies in place that are longer term. In the short term some of those became a distraction. This week we’ve probably paired back a little bit and focused on the things we need to prepare for to win this Test match."
Focused preparation
Directly after the game last week Eddie Jones highlighted that he had prepared the side incorrectly and heaped the blame for their slightly off-colour performance on his own shoulders. At the time he admitted that he didn't know quite what he had done wrong yet but that he would look at it and rectify the situation accordingly. Needless to say the Australian has tweaked their preparation this week and here's how;
"We got a few things wrong and I don’t think my coaching of the team was great. We’re building towards the World Cup, we want to win the Six Nations but we want to win the World Cup and we have got a number of strategies and different methodologies in place that are longer term. In the short term some of those became a distraction. This week we’ve probably paired back a little bit and focused on the things we need to prepare for to win this Test match."
