After their dismal performance in the Rugby World Cup last October, England Rugby parted ways with Stuart Lancaster before announcing in January that Eddie Jones would take over his position as head coach.
After their dismal performance in the Rugby World Cup last October, England Rugby parted ways with Stuart Lancaster before announcing in January that Eddie Jones would take over his position as head coach.
Jones, who had found recent success in the World Cup with Japan, including making history by beating the Springboks, was set to move to the Stormers ahead of their Super Rugby campaign.
Despite this, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) made Jones an offer he just could not refuse and since then, the Australian-born coach has seen two Six Nations victories with his new side, beating Scotland 9-15 and Italy 9-40.
Lancaster started out his tenure on much the same note, winning his first two matches as an interim head coach in 2012 and placed second overall in the tournament.
When Lancaster took over as head coach on a permanent basis, he opted for a more free-running, backline oriented game plan, which relied heavily on his scrumhalf and flyhalf’s tactical kicking ability.
Lancaster used these aerial tactics to good affect; employing pacey backs to chase up and apply pressure. He also believed in powerful yet mobile forwards to crash up the ball.
Unfortunately for Lancaster this game plan had its flaws as it meant omitting a specialized open-side flanker from his squads. This had the result of worsening the team’s discipline with England finishing the 2015 Six Nations as the most penalised team in the tournament. It was this lack of discipline which would ultimately cost England a shot at the William Webb Ellis trophy.
Jones on the other hand has adopted a much more free-flowing running style of play in his first two matches in charge of England, similar to that of Japan in last year’s World Cup.
This has resulted in a few more tries being scored, making England rugby much more entertaining to watch although Jones has not done away with the tactical kicking option.
Jones has not as of yet been able to solve England’s discipline problems though, as England conceded a total of 12 penalties in a kickable position in their first two games. He has also failed to make too many changes to the squad, with a specialized open-side flanker still missing from the setup.
At this stage it is too early to tell if Jones has had a good impact but there are definitely positive signs which could lead to some more positive results as is expected from the England rugby team.
sport@grocotts.co.za
