Get the front row right, Eddie, and it all follows
NICK CAIN LOOKS AHEAD TO NEXT WEEK’S ENGLAND SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT WITH SOME ADVICE FOR EDDIE JONES
SIX Nations Grand Slams are not easy to come by, and Eddie Jones knows this only too well after coming up short in the five years since his inaugural clean sweep in 2016. It is fair to say that when it comes to winning Grand Slams there is a premium placed on coaches being able to judge when to gamble, and when to hold – and Jones has not got a good record when it comes to finding a winnertakes-all hand.
Rather than adhering to the principle championed by the seventeenth century French poet Pierre Corneille that “to win without risk is to triumph without glory”, Jones has opted for loyalty to players who are frequently not at the top of their game, while denying opportunities to those who have been consistently good at club level.
It explains why two more Six Nations titles won by England on Jones’ watch, in 2017 and 2020, did not hit the heights after being marred by losses to Ireland in the last round in 2017 – with a double Grand Slam slipping away – and France in the first round of the 2020 tournament after going into it underprepared.
Jones acknowledged the lack of preparation in the second instance, and took responsibility for it, but for a ‘supercoach’ his record of a single Grand Slam in his big foray into northern hemisphere coaching does not have the gloss he wants.
Since his record-equalling early winning run England have been too inconsistent to claim the biggest prizes, with last season’s dismal Six Nations campaign – which started with a home defeat by Scotland and was followed by further losses to Wales and Ireland – emphasising the point.
Decisions: Eddie Jones
However, hope springs eternal, and the autumn wins over Australia and South Africa have brought new optimism, with the emergence of a fizzing new fly-half in Marcus Smith, as well as benefits from the head coach’s belated recognition of the need for true competition for places to keep his team’s competitive edge finely honed.