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Jones strenuously defends under-fire Farrell, insisting England are not in any slump

(Photo by Dan Mullan/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

Eddie Jones has launched a strenuous defence of England skipper Owen Farrell, adding that accusations claiming his team are potentially in a 2018-like slump are something he won’t consider on the back of a single Guinness Six Nations defeat. England finished fifth in 2018 when last defending a Six Nations title, their three championship losses to Scotland, France and Ireland getting followed by two more defeats on tour in South Africa. 

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However, Jones refused to indulge in any then and now comparisons, while he also unequivocally backing England captain Farrell whose poor display in last weekend’s 11-6 loss to Scotland ignited a firestorm of criticism and sparked multiple calls that he should be dropped for next Saturday’s round two match versus Italy. 

“Every player is up for selection and it is all dependant on form,” said Jones when asked how he goes about selection. “You look at historical form, you look at present form and you try to make the right decisions for the team – and Owen is no different from any other player. 

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Eddie Jones takes the blame for England’s opening round Six Nations loss

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Eddie Jones takes the blame for England’s opening round Six Nations loss

“He has been a highly consistent, highly successful player for us. Like a number of players on Saturday, he wasn’t at his best. I know there is a bandwagon, but he is an outstanding player and like any outstanding player they can have a game where they are not at their best. Is that a reason to drop the player? I wouldn’t think so.

“There is no set law or rule for that,” added Jones when asked if an England team captain gets treated any differently than say a less experienced player. “We are always trying to make the right assessment. We had to go through a difficult stage with Dylan (Hartley) when his form was starting to tail off.

 

“We gave him an amount of time to try to pick up his form but due to injury and a number of other circumstances it just wasn’t right for the team and it’s the same for anyone who is the captain of the side, they have got to keep performing at a high level. But having one game where they are not at the level that is expected is not a reason to start speculating on whether he is going to be dropped or not. 

“You guys [the media] must have a new thesaurus because I always thought slump was having three or four bad games and it now must be one game, is it? I’m just trying to get some definition about your use of slump. I’m not prepared to talk about a slump.”

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Jones’ refusal to indulge use of the S-word regarding Farrell extended to an invitation he was given to compare the situation England are currently in and what they experienced in 2018, their poorest Six Nations campaign ever under the Australian.

“I can’t,” he replied. “Because it is not the same situation. It’s completely different… when did I say we were in a slump? 2018? So when did I say it was a slump? How many games were we in? That was possibly after we played three or four bad games. So we have played one bad game. How can I compare this situation with 2018? You are inviting me to make comparisons on two different situations.

“I am always disappointed when we don’t play well. I want the team to play to its absolute full potential and you never know what the potential is of a team. No team has ever played the perfect game of rugby so very disappointed but the players were equally as disappointed. 

“The one thing about this group of players is they are an honest, hard-working, committed group of players and they were massively disappointed as were the coaching staff, so we share the disappointment.”

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Jones has recalled the suspension-free Kyle Sinckler and the injury-free Mako Vunipola to his 28-man squad for their Italian job, releasing Harry Williams, who featured off the bench against Scotland, and the uncapped Tom West back to their club.

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O
Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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