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'Review panel questioned what we were doing, they wanted answers'

By PA
(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Eddie Jones will make dispelling his team’s Guinness Six Nations hangover one of his priorities when his England training squad gather to begin preparations for the summer. London Irish’s 19-year-old sensation Henry Arundell is among ten uncapped players chosen in a 36-man squad who will meet in the capital for a three-day camp beginning on Sunday.

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Owen Farrell and Manu Tuilagi have also been included after missing the entire Six Nations because of respective ankle and hamstring injuries, although a number of other senior players have been rested on this occasion. England face the Barbarians on June 19 before embarking on a three-Test tour of Australia where they must rebuild after collapsing to record another dismal Championship.

Jones retains the backing of the Rugby Football Union and has emerged from the post-tournament review process confident that minor tweaks will restore fortunes – once the recent setback has been addressed.

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The Breakdown | Episode 13 | Sky Sport NZ

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The Breakdown | Episode 13 | Sky Sport NZ

“You always carry the disappointment of your last game. Whether it’s the last of the season or a tournament, you carry it and so you need to chat about it,” said Jones, speaking for the first time since the review was conducted.

“You need to make sure you are looking ahead to what is going to be important. Disappointment can be a highly motivating factor. It can also be a hindrance. So it’s the way you use it. When you don’t win it’s normal to be criticised and to be under fire a little bit. I find that a normal part of coaching. I don’t think you ever get used to it, to losing. It’s not a pleasant experience. My responsibility is to win.

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“But you take the positives out of the situation you have and you look ahead and see what you can do in the future, which is what we have been doing. The review was fantastic. The review panel questioned what we were doing, they wanted answers because we didn’t perform at the standard we wanted to. That makes you reflective and sometimes it might open up a point that you didn’t give enough attention to.

“That reflection process is important and having independent people is useful. I have got a pretty good understanding of what we are trying to do, who we are going to have in the team and how we want to play. We have got to make it happen.”

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Another task facing Jones is to assess the potential of Arundell, the England U20s full-back who has been on his radar for eight months. His debut season as a professional has already produced plenty of material for highlights reels, but his length-of-the-field try against Toulon earlier this month has propelled his reputation to a new level.

Jones sees a similarity to Australian great Matt Giteau but is cautious about making any bold predictions before he has seen him up close. “Henry has got exceptional pace. He probably reminds me a lot of Matt Giteau in terms of his desire to attack. Not the way he plays, but his desire to attack,” Jones said.

“There could be something good about him but we don’t know what his desire is, we don’t know what his work ethic is like, we don’t know what his mental resilience is like. The test of a young player to become a good Test player is their ability to work hard, their ability to take knocks, their ability to keep resilient physically and mentally and to have that mindset to keep improving.

“From what I know of him and I have met him once very briefly, he has got good attributes. But we will only see that on the three days of training we have.”

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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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