How Eddie Jones rebooted England: Inside a rejuvenated camp
Friday 11 November 2016 14:32, UK
England's fortunes have been transformed under coach Eddie Jones. Jefferson Lake looks at the Australian's methods.
The England squad's training session on the final Thursday before the traditional autumn internationals was set for 32 minutes. Not half an hour. Not even 35 minutes, but 32.
The word around Pennyhill Park, the luxurious Bagshot hotel which has been home to international training since 2003, is that such things are done to keep the players "on their toes". They are, according to those around the squad, textbook Eddie Jones.
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Whatever his methods or his reasons behind them, they are certainly working. Teams don't win nine successive games by accident, and the fact such a sequence has come after a dreadful World Cup at which the host nation was eliminated at the group stage makes it one all the more remarkable.
So what has Jones done to turn a group of players which underachieved on a grand - and dire - scale to one about to bid for a perfect 10 against South Africa?
A key difference regularly quoted is that the players are now more physical, that there has been an increase in intensity on the paddock which has been replicated in the Test match arena. Such intensity has also been increased by the added time the group has spent together, with the Bagshot practices being preceded by similar workouts in Brighton and Portugal.
But those methods have not been without criticism, and never more so than when key players were injured as a result of them. Anthony Watson fractured his jaw during the south coast jaunt but there was worse news a day earlier when Wasps flanker Sam Jones broke his leg during a judo session.
The issue of physicality is front and centre as plans are made for the visit of South Africa to Twickenham, but it is one of which Jones is largely dismissive as an inherent ingredient of the sport.
"If you don't want it to be physical, you should play volleyball," is his assessment when the issue arises.
"I think it's amusing when people talk about certain teams being more physical than others. You have to be physical - that's the game."
That said, he does accept there is more of an abrasive edge to the Springboks than exists with other Test teams.
A recent newspaper report stated that giant lock Eben Etzebeth can bench press 175kg - or to put it another way, the weight of an adult panda - and arm curl a 75kg dumbbell, which equates to 10kg less than the weight of George Ford.
"The general rule there is that if you're a lock and you're not 6'6", you're shot and you're out the door," Jones told Sky Sports News HQ.
"They always pick the biggest blokes they can find and we know they're going to do that, it's something we're fully aware of.
"But there are ways to get at South Africa and we'll be smart enough to work out how to get at them. Because of their overt physicality, I think they will give us opportunities in the game."
With that in mind, Tom Wood has been selected at openside flanker after an international exile period of more than a year.
The Northampton man was one of several who paid the price for the poor World Cup campaign but accepted Jones' assertion that he was not producing good enough rugby to be considered for selection at that point.
His return to form and thus to the squad proves that Jones does not hold grudges, and his captain and club-mate Dylan Hartley was pleased to see him back in the fold.
"He's been out in the wilderness," said Hartley, whose 'Movember' moustache and close-cropped hair is not a patch on Wood's full beard and flowing locks. "And he looks like he's literally been living out in the wilderness.
"He's a top bloke. He has worked hard and taken the feedback from Eddie on board. It's great to have him back."
Wood's first task on Saturday will be, in Jones' own words, to "make as big a mess as possible of South Africa's first breakdown" as England prepare themselves for a pack battle in the forecast Twickenham rain.
They have not beaten the Springboks since 2006 - a barren run which spans 12 Test matches - but with a Grand Slam and that historic summer tour victory in Australia under their belts, England are well placed to end that sequence.
"We've been together for a long time and we've been building towards this game for a long time," said Hartley. "We prepare at Test-level intensity and we have worked hard for this game.
"We're excited. We've been meeting up a lot recently and all of our talk has been about this game. I think the past week we've had has been one of our best weeks as a squad."
Hartley, and Jones, will be hoping that practice-ground preparation translates to on-pitch precision as they bid for a perfect 10 wins in a row.
Watch England v South Africa on Saturday. Coverage begins on Sky Sports 1 HD at 2pm.
