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Eddie Jones has outlined his ultimate lofty ambition for his revamped England as they take their first step forward this Saturday in the countdown towards the start of the 2023 World Cup in France in 22 months’ time. The Australian has chosen an XV to take on Tonga that shows nine changes from the team beaten easily by Ireland in the Six Nations last March.
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That was the low point in Jones’ tenure in charge of England since 2016 and he has reacted by shaking up his selection for this weekend’s Autumn Nations Series opener, a fixture that he hopes is the start of a journey that will culminate in glory in France in a couple of years’ time.
Jones was on the receiving end of much flak in the wake of England’s 2021 Six Nations campaign. A fifth-place finish was seen as terrible for a country that only months earlier had clinched the 2020 Six Nations title and success in the Autumn Nations Cup.
His position was only guaranteed following an RFU review and having since used the summer series to scout new players and revamp his coaching staff, Jones has arrived into this three-game Autumn Nations Series – which also includes games versus the Wallabies and the Springboks – seeking to lay the foundation that can help England go all the way at the next World Cup and not fail at the final hurdle as happened in 2019.
“I’m not relieved,” he said about the line now drawn in the sand eight months on from England’s painful Six Nations collapse which jeopardised his job. “Selection is a process and you move from one World Cup to the other. You have ideas about how you continually renovate the squad and we have been putting those ideas into place.
After all the hype, Marcus Smith was only named as the England No22 on a day when even Robin Hood got a mention from Eddie Jones at his media briefing #AutumnNationsSeries #England #ENGvTONhttps://t.co/h6GtRWNtSj
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 4, 2021
“There was a time when the previous World Cup team was possibly going to age a little bit and be too old to go to the next World Cup. so post the Lions was the ideal opportunity to do that. So we have done that and we have got a good mix for this (Tonga) game, 13 guys from the previous World Cup and ten new guys. We feel like that is a team that can grow and develop and be the World Cup champions and that is our ultimate aim.
“We want to be more aggressive with the ball. That is what we have worked out we need to do, that is where the game is at the moment. The speed of the ruck has gone from three seconds to two-point-seven-nine, which is about a ten per cent increase in speed, so there are opportunities to be more aggressive with the ball and want to be more aggressive. That is what we are looking for.”
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Eddie Jones referenced an All Black when explaining the logic of naming Tom Curry as the England No8 to face Tonga#AutumnNationsSeries #England #ENGvTON #AllBlacks
https://t.co/IIc0FYr25K— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 4, 2021
Utter nonesense again from Eddie. The squad and the group of players at his disposal could grow into champions, that's true. There are some really exciting options. The fact that we have Billy, Dombradt and Simmonds to fight it out at 8 is a good example.
But this team is conservative. It stinks of 2019. There are no standout current 15s who are fit, so that's why Steward gets a chance, thankfully. The same with Radwan, most other first choice wingers are currently infured. Other than that, the backline is the same as 2019 when they're fit.
The pack is similar. When Billy was injured, England played Curry at 8 with Lawes at 6 and Underhill.
We will learn nothing from this game. If you're playing Farrel at 10 why not give Mitchel a game, then bring on Youngs to help guide Smith later? That would be progressive.
Play Dombradt, he's the future English No 8s. Lawes is an amazingn player, but he's going to be 34 by the time the WC rolls around. We know what he has to offer, if he wants a big 6 we have George Martin and Ted Hill, lets see how they work at international level, especially against Tonga.
Besides Radwan and Steward, this team could have started the last WC. That's fine, but we have a rare situation where we have so many exciting players breaking down the door with the Prem form... it's wasitng an opportunity, because Eddie HAS to do the opposite of what he thinks the fans and media want.
We will win, but it just shows the conservatism of Eddie.