What changes should Eddie Jones actually make?

So, Eddie Jones takes the helm. There was, weirdly enough, an article the other day about how he is taking such a long time to make changes. How dare he take more than a week or so to assemble his team?  

Let’s look at some home truths – Lancaster was only unsuccessful in terms of what he set out to achieve at the very last hurdle. There were glaring errors in the World Cup, but hindsight is a wonderful thing, and had England beaten Wales and not totally capitulated to the Aussies, Sam Burgess might be lining up for Bath this weekend, Chris Robshaw might be an MBE and Stuart Lancaster would be picking his Six Nations squad. The fact is the failure of the World Cup was so absolute in terms of results that Lancaster had to go no matter what. 

Pre World Cup though, Lancaster had got things right. Not everything – but we had a relatively settled side, there were only a few surprises in terms of selection and we were playing some good rugby. The manner in which we beat Ireland in the warm-up match appears to have been forgotten, but those emphatic tries and creativity were exciting. Give it time, and the nation might allow Lancaster to hold his head high. 

This is why Jones is being patient. He knows that the margins of error are small. One wrong selection and the media will hang you out to dry. Not only that, but journalists appear to require very little reason to demand changes to a team. Take this example from the Telegraph: “Brad Barritt, who is playing very well for Saracens again, would be one (of players whom you can “dismiss” as having their international careers over) because you just feel that his time has come and gone now – although Saturday’s news about Henry Slade’s suspected broken leg may change that.” This is the rather bizarre logic that faces Jones from the media. Personally, I think Barritt is not the sort of player Jones would normally pick - though much like the back row, a centre partnership relies on balance rather than individual brilliance and if we could reignite the Barritt/Tuilagi partnership that destroyed New Zealand three years ago then we would be laughing. 

Perhaps before we look at what Jones should change, we should talk about what he should keep. Mike Catt has been a good attack coach. He has had a constantly changing backline to work with, and England have found their way to the try line through the backs plenty. Yes, there are imperfections. Yes, the selection issues in the backline still remain. Despite these, Catt has managed to show his ability to create an effective backline and improve the forwards’ handling immeasurably. Maybe he isn’t going to be the attack coach long-term; maybe the backline will be the focal point of restructuring the starting line up – either way, I think Catt has done enough to stay. Has Andy Farrell done enough to stay? Possibly. Though if I were Jones I wouldn’t want a player’s dad helping me pick or not pick his son. 

The ethos of the team will remain. What Lancaster has put back in to England, back into the shirt and back into the fans is not just belief but support. I can genuinely remember not caring if England won or lost in the 2011 World Cup, such was my total disillusionment with the regime in place.

What will Jones change then? I think the main thing will be the coaching set-up. To remove Farrell and Rowntree only to replace them with just Saracens coaches would be silly, especially in terms of what the rugby media want to see. A backroom staff of Sanderson, Gustard and Borthwick would be totally and utterly effective. But is it ethical to have such a Saracens-based coaching set-up? Well, Gustard might live and breathe the Wolfpack, but he was a Leicester man for a long time before he was a Sarrie. And Sanderson will always be a Northerner – his heart does not belong to North London. But if you were to pilfer anyone from Sarries, Joe Shaw would be the man I would want. He coached the side to last season’s LV Cup win, and he is the silent and unseen force behind a lot of what is effective about Saracens’ ability to win constantly. 

In terms of a fearsome pack, you need look no further than Northampton for inspiration for adding to the personnel. Dorian West has made the Northampton pack a scary thing, but also he seems to have the temperament for international rugby. With the occasional input from Steve Borthwick at the lineout and so on, maybe that would work? Or is it a straight choice between Borthwick and somebody else? For me, Borthwick is an eventual England head coach – but not yet. Let him grow in stature at Bristol, see them back up to the Premiership when London Irish or Newcastle go down (how many of these words will I be eating in May?) and then let him take over. Say…2019? 

My ideal England coaching setup: 

Eddie Jones

Paul Gustard – Defence Coach 

Joe Shaw – Skills Coach 

Mike Catt – Attack Coach 

Dorian West – Forwards Coach 

In terms of the team, there are a few players who really deserve a call-up. Obviously the news about Henry Slade is devastating, as we can all agree on the fact that he will be in England’s midfield somewhere for the next few years. This at least gives us the opportunity to see what a Sladeless existence is like. I want to see Sale’s Sam James replacing Slade in the squad. He has pace, size, guile and has played at fly-half, so he is the most like-for-like replacement. I also think that he could be a potent partner for Slade or Joseph over the next few years. Alternatively, when we are up against real beef-merchants like South Africa, imagine the James-Tuilagi combo? 

At scrum-half, Joe Simpson is long overdue his England start. He has everything that you could want in classic scrum-half, though his box-kicking leaves a little to be desired. Maybe rotate him with Ben Youngs depending on what you want in terms of control – although for a kicking scrum-half Ben Spencer could always be an option. 

On the wing, Jack Nowell and Anthony Watson both look shoo-ins, but it is high time we threw the electric Wade into the mix. 

In the front row, Kieran Brookes is beginning to look like the long-term heir to the Dan Cole empire, and it must now be time surely for Vunipola to overtake Marler, certainly in light of recent performances. Jamie George will probably miss out for Hartley or Youngs in terms of starting, but surely he must be elevated to the bench. 

Second-row provides some difficulty. In James Gaskell and Maro Itoje we have two young players who both should be in and around the line-up but whether as second rows or blindsides remains to be seen. Graham Kitchener has been putting in a few decent shifts, and George Kruis, Dave Attwood, Courtney Lawes, Geoff Parling and potential captain Joe Launchbury are not going to be dislodged lightly. 

Back-row is rife with competition. As soon as Nathan Hughes counts as English, he will be in the mix, but for now it is really Billy Vunipola’s to lose. My dad reckons him leaving the field against Wales was the moment we lost the match. But then again my dad also reckons Freddie and the Dreamers are rock music so swings and roundabouts. Will Fraser and Dave Ewers will be there too, and Dave Ewers’ ability to play right across the back-row might make him the ideal super-sub. And what of Robshaw? Probably not the best 7 in the premiership, but is he the best 6? Is he even the best at 8? Can you leave him out completely? Jones made it clear that his comments in the World Cup were a bit sensationalist. 

Fly-half – What happens there? Owen Farrell or George Ford. Is it a case of chalk and cheese or more cheese-flavoured chalk and chalk-flavoured cheese – two players focussed on the same thing but having a very different skill set and mentality. Are there any other contenders? Well, Danny Cipriani genuinely is. Eddie Jones won’t mind using a player who may well not be there for the next World Cup, or indeed a player who is potentially a firebrand – he has alluded to that. Farrell and Ford might be the two main contenders, but Cipriani’s vision and flair has more of the Eddie Jones style about it.  

My England team for the first game of the Six Nations, if the Six Nations were next weekend: 

1 – Mako Vunipola 
2 – Dylan Hartley 
3 – Kieran Brookes 
4 – Joe Launchbury 
5 – Maro Itoje   
6 – Chris Robshaw 
7 – Will Fraser 
8 – Billy Vunipola 
9 – Joe Simpson 
10 – Danny Cipriani
11 – Jack Nowell 
12 – Sam James 
13 – Jonathan Joseph 
14 – Anthony Watson 
15 – Mike Brown 

Subs: Jamie George, Joe Marler, Dan Cole, Courtney Lawes, Dave Ewers, Ben Youngs, Owen Farrell, Christian Wade 

Who would captain the side? It won’t be Robshaw. There are leaders in the side, and no one jumps out as the stand-out candidate. I find it ironic that the same people who complained about Robshaw’s quiet attitude and lack of bite are now calling for Launchbury. For me, he is a dead cert starter but not the captain we need or want. Hartley is too volatile and may not be there come 2019. Some are calling for Farrell to captain, some are calling for Ford, and that is a debate which will rage on forever. However, I personally would go for Itoje. There are plenty of reasons to say no to any of them, and everyone becomes a hypocrite when things like this are being debated. Martin Johnson was plucked from being no-one really to captaining the Lions – and those results cannot be denied. For me Itoje is a starter, he is young, and he is a proven leader – he was captian when Saracens won the LV Cup. 

Filed under: Six Nations, England
Written by: Peter Randall
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