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Eddie Jones turns to US Navy SEALs as he plots World Cup campaign

By PA
Eddie Jones has seen a plethora of young England players pass through in his seven years in charge (Photo by Andrew Matthews/PA Images via Getty Images)

Eddie Jones will shape England’s approach to next year’s World Cup inspired by the level of planning that went into the climatic stage of the Navy SEALs’ hunt for Osama bin Laden.

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Earlier this month Jones spent two days with the US Navy’s elite fighting force at their base in San Diego where he learnt how they dealt with an immediate setback in the 2011 mission named ‘Operation Neptune Spear’, which ended with the Al-Qaeda leader being killed.

England’s head coach insists the ability to adapt to a game that is more volatile then ever because of HIAs, yellow cards and injuries is now critical and he will use this knowledge to prepare for the upcoming autumn campaign as the World Cup looms on the horizon.

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“I was lucky enough to spend a couple of days with the Navy SEALs and understand how can we prepare the players better to cope with the unexpected. If we train better, we prepare them better,” Jones said.

“You know the Osama thing… they practised that whole project for 12 months for 38 minutes of work. And the first thing they did was wrong. The helicopter hit the wires.

“They had 12 months to prepare, went through it religiously and they still get something wrong, but then they were able to cope with it and get it done within 38 minutes.

“So you look at the analogy with us now, 12 months to the World Cup and we’re playing a game that’s got 35 minutes ball in play.

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“The ability to dress-rehearse, prepare the players for what’s coming up, whether it’s the first round, second round, third round, whatever it is, is the opportunity going forward.”

While the time with the US special forces has provided Jones with ideas to help England over the next year, it was the capricious nature of the Rugby Championship clinched by New Zealand on Saturday that illustrated the current landscape on the field.

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“We’ve got these extremes at the moment. We want to understand how we play rugby at our best, with our players, and be able to play that game,” Jones said.

“But we need to be able to adapt to a different game. Probably 25 per cent is uncontrollable through sin-bins, HIAs and uneven numbers.

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“The game becomes completely different so we need to be able to adapt from our game to the game that’s going to be played at that time.

“That’s hard to do and there aren’t too many teams in the world who can do it. In fact, I can’t name one at the moment. So there’s a great opportunity for us.”

Jones has named a 36-man training squad for a three-day camp starting on Sunday with England opening the autumn against Argentina at Twickenham on November 6.

Danny Care is missing after being told to rebuild his form at Harlequins following a disappointing tour to Australia in July, while prop Kyle Sinckler and centre Henry Slade have been left to continue their comebacks from injury at their respective clubs Bristol and Exeter.

Sam Simmonds is present, however, after he missed out against the Wallabies because of a hip issue and Jones believes the Exeter number eight will be available for World Cup selection despite signing a deal to join Montpellier for next season.

England do not pick overseas-based players but the apparent green light for Simmonds to appear at France 2023 could encourage other players considering a move to France to follow suit.

“As far as I know, the rule is that if you are contracted to an English club and you finish the season with that club and you haven’t signed a contract that starts before the World Cup then you are eligible to play for England,” Jones said.

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Comments

2 Comments
R
Robert 786 days ago

Nice one steady, if there is a gimmick to be had your the man.

J
Jamie 2 787 days ago

Good on you Eddie, featuring the US Navy Seals as providing the inspiration for developing England's 2023 RWC rugby campaign is thinking outside the square, or is it. Maybe Eddie should also read about the many snafu's the special forces have found themselves in as well, but this is an excellent bit of Eddie Jones self promotion for the next years RWC, well done!.

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SK 31 minutes ago
Why England's defence of the realm has crumbled without Felix Jones

The way they are defending is sometime pathetic to be honest. Itoje is usually on the inside of the rush and he is paired with a slower tight forward. Unable to keep up with the rush we have seen the line become disconnected on the inside where the big boys are. How many times have we seen Earl rush past the first receiver almost into no mans land covering no attacker. It looks like a system without any guidance. Tome Wright, Ikitau and a number of Wallabies went back to this soft centre as did Williams, Jordan and several others. Also when the line is broken the multiple lines of defence seems to be missing. The rush is predicated on a cover and recovery system with multiple lines of defence but with England you dont see it any more. Fitness and conditioning seems to be off as well as players are struggling to keep up with the intensity of the rush. Felix Jones has left a huge hole. The whole situation was and is a mess. Why they insist on not letting him go and having him work remotely is beyond me. Its leading to massive negative press and is a hot button issue thats distracting from the squad. Also the communication around Jones and his role has been absolute rubbish and is totally disjointed. While some say he is working remotely and playing a role others are saying theres been no contact. His role has not been defined and so people keep asking and keep getting different answers. England need a clean break from him and need to start over. Whatever reason for his leaving its time to cut the rope before the saga drags the whole Borthwick regime down. As for Joe El Abd well good luck to him. He is being made to look like an amateur by the whole saga and he is being asked to coach a system thats not his and which has been perfected and honed since 2017 by Nienaber, Jones, Erasmus and Co and which was first started by White in 2004. He is literally trying to figure out a system pioneered by double world cup winning coaches at the highest level and coach it at the same time. Talk about being on a hiding to nothing.

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