Bet for world cup

World Cup winner Kyran Bracken is mystified by Eddie Jones’ selection methods — and bored of his mind games. Bracken was one of three scrum-halves to lift the 2003 Webb Ellis trophy with England, and knows how much work it took to get the job done. So he is incredulous that, so close to this autumn's version, Jones chose to start Ben Youngs at No.9 throughout the Six Nations. Dan Robson managed just 28 minutes at the fag end of two of the four matches in which he warmed the bench. Ben Spencer got a grand total of six minutes. “It’s as though Ben Youngs is going to play every minute of the World Cup, which he clearly can’t,” said Bracken. “I just don’t understand it. “In 2003, Matt Dawson pulled out with an injury on the eve of our biggest pool game and I came in and played the full 80. I had over 40 caps, but imagine that scenario if Ben is injured and Dan thrown in not having started a competitive Test. It would be unfair on him. … [Read more...] about England’s Eddie Jones compared to Jose Mourinho by worried World Cup winner

England fly to the Rugby World Cup in Japan tonight with Eddie Jones telling his players they can be heroes. Jones knows the fine margin between glory and despair having lost a final with Australia before winning one with South Africa. He also knows better than anyone the capacity of rugby’s global showpiece to create legends. Four years ago his Japan team sprung the biggest shock in tournament history by beating South Africa. ‘The Brighton Miracle’ is now a major movie. Today he challenges his players to emulate Martin Johnson’s heroes of 2003 - and the cricketers of this summer - by winning their sport’s biggest prize. “They can become someone who changes the whole course of history,” Jones said. “We’ve already spoken about how England winning in 2003 impacted lives and we may touch on it again. “The number of kids playing… the impact on their lives, World Cup winners obviously get status benefits; they get financial … [Read more...] about You can be HEROES, Eddie Jones tells his Rugby World Cup-bound England team

Eddie Jones will talk to Gareth Southgate before confirming England’s policy on WAGs and off-field conduct at next year’s Rugby World Cup. Rugby Football Union bosses were hugely impressed by Southgate’s PR triumph en route to reaching the semi-finals in Russia. Jones’ squad fell short of those heights on tour in South Africa and every effort is being made to raise standards in Japan. “We have been talking to the FA about what they did successfully at the World Cup,” Jones confirmed. “When it gets closer to the time we will have a policy on that (WAGs). We will have an idea and give it to the players to look at. We want them to accept responsibility. Then we will take it from there.” England players abused the trust placed in them by team manager Martin Johnson at the last overseas Rugby World Cup they attended in 2011. The Twickenham suits are not about to tolerate a repeat. RFU chief Steve Brown made a point of saying how … [Read more...] about Eddie Jones to tap into Gareth Southgate’s wisdom over WAGs policy at Rugby World Cup

Eddie Jones left bad boys Ben Te’o and Mike Brown out of his Rugby World Cup squad - then admitted England could have disciplinary issues in Japan. The pair, who were involved in an altercation during England’s warm-weather training camp a fortnight ago, failed to make the 31-man list. Jones refused to confirm the reason for their omission but said he could not rule out off-field problems at the tournament itself. “I’ve coached for 25 years, I’ve never been confident in a team being smooth,” said the Australian. “We’re like any family – everyone sits around the dining table, everyone enjoys good conversation but you know there are problems and we’re exactly the same. “We’ve got 31 sitting around the table, we can have nice conversations. You know potentially there’s a problem. All I can do is trust the players – they are adults, they’re responsible, they want to play for England. “We could … [Read more...] about Eddie Jones admits there could be trouble ahead for England at Japan World Cup

Eddie Jones watched his side make the history books – then gave them a kick up the backside as he claimed none of them would make a World XV. Jones is a hard man to satisfy – this was England’s 14th win on the spin, and their 13th in a row on the Aussie’s watch and he still had the hump. There really is no pleasing some people. The run of 14 puts them up with Martin Johnson’s heroes of 2002 and 2003 and this is their first undefeated calendar year since 1992 when Will Carling’s mob played just six games. Ben Youngs did his best to get into a global team with a stunning performance from scrum-half and Courtney Lawes and Jonathan Joseph put in huge shifts but it was still not enough for the boss. England were under the pump for half an hour and Twickenham was fearing the worst but they pulled it back and by the end were running away with the game. By the finish they had racked up their most points against the Aussies at HQ and made it 4-0 over the … [Read more...] about England 37-21 Australia: Red Rose cap sublime 2016 in style but Jones demands World Cup improvement