WATCH: Greenwood backs Jones' England camps
Monday 10 October 2016 16:54, UK
Will Greenwood said England's recent injuries are an 'unfortunate coincidence', and backed the intensity of Eddie Jones' camps.
The former England player was on Sky Sports News HQ to discuss the national side's current injury concerns, with Jones under pressure from Premiership clubs after several stars were sidelined following high-intensity training sessions.
Wasps' Sam Jones broke his right leg and suffered ankle damage during a judo session, with the flanker ruled out for five months, while Bath winger Anthony Watson sustained a broken jaw during a training session last Tuesday. Most recently, Exeter claimed that England told them Jack Nowell only had a minor injury but a subsequent scan revealed a "nine-to-10 centimetre" tear in his thigh.
In the wake of criticism from club bosses, Jones has agreed to a meeting with the 12 Premiership teams to discuss player welfare.
Will Greenwood says he sympathises with the clubs, but believes the injuries are part of the game, and that England's recent luckless run is an unfortunate coincidence rather than the fault of the England coaching staff.
"I've seen it up close and personal," said the Sky Sports pundit.
"They're not long sessions, they're not being flogged, they're not kept out on a field on their feet for hours and hours, but [Jones] wants to replicate Test-match intensity - as close to that as possible - within training camps."
"Which is exactly what Clive Woodward used to do; make the training so unbelievably hard that when you land on a Saturday... you're accustomed to that heart rate spiking, that physical and mental pressure being applied.
"Now, [Jones] has been in charge for a year, there have been some injuries in previous camps, but I think what happens is everything is focused on it when you hear 'a broken jaw', 'a broken leg', 'a torn quad'.
"I believe it's an unfortunate coincidence of an accumulation of players being crocked at the same time."
Greenwood says communication between the RFU and the Premiership is better today than it's ever been, and urged all involved to maintain that relationship in order for England to compete with the All Blacks at the top of world rugby.
"I think the relationship between the Rugby Football Union and the English clubs, the Premiership, has grown fantastically well over the past four or five years," said Greenwood.
"It's allowed the club sides to develop with a huge amount of financial support from the governing body, and with that support they buy the right to get access to the players.
"Which is critical if you have got any chance of keeping up with New Zealand and the southern hemisphere sides. We've overtaken two or three - we're No 2 in the world - but New Zealand are like a club side, they spend so much time together.
"The positions they play for in their provinces is dictated from up on high, so they have real control over the players.
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"We have a position where players are riding two horses throughout the whole season, they've got their club colours and they've got their international colours.
"So I think it's really important that these training sessions do take place, that Eddie Jones gets a little bit more time with the players.
"The last Test matches these guys played would have been in June, a fantastic tour of Australia where we won three-nil, but the next Test match after that is November the 12th. It's a considerable time to be away from each other."
Click on the video to watch the full interview with Will Greenwood on Sky Sports News HQ
