At Twickenham Stadium on Saturday afternoon England’s 48 to 14 point victory delivered exactly what Eddie Jones wanted from it. First and foremost a victory and after that plenty of lessons learned as his assessment below highlights.
“It was a tough old game. We had a number of players playing their first big Test, some struggled and some did well. It's the sort of game we needed to play, particularly after beating Australia, when you're playing against a side that you're supposed to beat by a big score and therefore the mindset that you need for that sort of game is something you only learn by experience.”
Of course this type of experience will be absolutely vital for England when it comes to Rugby World Cup 2019 and their outings against the USA, Tonga and maybe even Argentina depending on Daniel Hourcade’s side’s output at that point in time. Needless to say their head coach and coaching team would much prefer that this group of players learned these lessons now as opposed to trying to pick them up 'on the job' in Japan.
“We started the game well and then thought the game was going to flow and going to be easy. Like most of the Pacific Island sides, Samoa and Tonga, they kept coming, kept contesting the breakdown. Took us until the 55th minute mark, somewhere around that, to realise we had to work harder. We learnt that and I thought the last 20 minutes was terrific. Really pleased with it, great learning experience. A number of the players will learn a lot from that. Some will be disappointed, which is not too bad at all and they've got plenty to reflect on.”
On a particularly crisp winter’s day England’s squad were met by a hugely physical Samoan outfit and I fully expect that many, if not all, will be particularly sore tomorrow. Back or forward, first start or experienced Test campaigner, it mattered little to the Samoans who they connected with as long as they did. Physicality is at the heart of their rugby and pleasingly for England the constant threat of a ‘rib tickler’ didn't de-rail their ambition. The bravery that George Ford spoke about on Thursday was present in spades and I have to say that personally I thought that England’s fly-half had another assured day at the office. Whilst on the subject of George Ford I must also say that Chris Robshaw’s decision to let the younger man lead England out of the tunnel epitomised the selflessness of the Harlequin. It would have been easy for him to do so and feel the emotions that he has experienced before yet he gave the honour and moment to his team mate. Once again it was another example of why so many, including myself have so much respect for him and on the field of play he gave it absolutely everything as he always does.
Elsewhere Sam Simmonds, a man that Eddie Jones says ‘needs to get some beef on him’ for international rugby, didn't look starstruck at starting in the Test arena. The Exeter Chief will be well looked after by Rob Baxter and he is a member of England's squad that I think could really thrive between now and 2019. Another player who was making his first international start - Jamie George - commenced the Test like the seasoned professional that he is and England are truly blessed having him and Dylan Hartley at hooker.
Back to the backs and I thought that England’s centre partnership grew as the game progressed. Henry Slade and Alex Lozowski are both in early stages of their Test careers and have tremendous skills and rugby brains on them. Eddie Jones' over-arching assessment was that ‘both of those guys are worth persevering with’ and I’m sure that you'll all be as pleased as I am to hear that.
As the Australian continued to reflect on the 80 minutes of Test rugby and England's autumn series he was quick to look ahead to their next challenge. In true Eddie Jones fashion he immediately put pressure on his players by saying that now ‘it all goes out the window’ as the squad breaks up for eight weeks or so. They have a camp in January before the Six Nations squad is formed and the quest for their head coach he called the 'three-peat' starts. His message was very simple and highlighted that his Six Nations' squad may not have the same configuration as this one unless his players progress back at their clubs and show him just how much they want it. Once again Eddie Jones made it clear that he will not pick individuals based on reputation or simply because he’s picked them ever since he’s been in charge. Instead, they must return to their clubs and show the form and desire required and those outside of it have ample opportunity to push themselves into contention.
This Autumn Series has been a positive and productive one for England. Each game has delivered exactly what was needed. Argentina dusted off the cobwebs and showed that this group of players know how to grind out a result, the fixture against Australia highlighted their fitness, intensity and finishing skills and this final Test against Samoa provided the platform for roles to be switched and key lessons to be learned by those moving around. Right now, the focus will turn back on domestic and European rugby but in the blink of an eye we'll be back here discussing the 2018 Six Nations Championship and of course this time next year England will have faced New Zealand! Can't wait for that one...!
