Eddie Jones promised to give England’s captain and coaches a clean slate after being awarded a four-year contract by the Rugby Football Union, but the national team’s first foreign coach says he wants a leader in the mould of Richie McCaw to galvanise his squad.
Jones, who revealed his intention to leave after the 2019 World Cup in Japan at the completion of his “project”, has previously questioned Chris Robshaw’s ability at the top level and said meeting the captain was a priority. The Australian said he hopes to develop an attacking mentality in the team.
Sat at Twickenham alongside the RFU chief executive, Ian Ritchie, and the chairman, Bill Beaumont, Jones was confirmed as the successor to Stuart Lancaster, who left the post after England’s dismal World Cup performance. The former Wallabies and Japan coach will assess his backroom team once he officially takes up the post in December and is happy to operate under the RFU’s policy of not selecting players based overseas.
Jones – who will fulfil a working obligation in Los Angeles next week before moving into the role – previously described Robshaw as “not outstandingly good in any area” in a newspaper column. However, he said Robshaw and all the players were “starting from zero” before next year’s Six Nations.
“The first thing with a captain is that he has to be one of the first players selected,” said Jones. “You’ve got to know the guy is going to be in the team. Secondly, whatever values we have in the team, they have to live those values so that every time a player looks at that captain they know the values that are important for the team, he’s leading the way.
“Those stories about Richie McCaw are true. In training they go from one drill to the next and he sprints there, he’s the first there. He cleans the changing room after the game, that’s the sort of guy you want. But it’s not just one guy, you need a group of players around him to support him. I’m sure those players are in England, we just have to find them. Leadership is something you have to develop.”
On his criticism of Robshaw, Jones said: “I wasn’t the coach of England then, I was a newspaper columnist. One of the first things I have to do is sit down with Chris and chat to him. I’ve watched a couple of his games since the World Cup and, as with all the players, he’s starting from zero. There’s always an opportunity to change things and he’s in that position. He’s got a nice cafe in Winchester. Fantastic coffee. Best coffee in England. I might grab him for a coffee down there.”
Jones worked alongside the forwards coach Steve Borthwick with Japan, who failed to advance from the pool stage at the World Cup despite beating South Africa and winning three matches, and there remains the possibility of new coaches arriving once the existing setup is appraised. Andy Farrell, the backs coach, worked with Jones at Saracens.
Having left the Cape Town-based Stormers without taking charge of a match, Jones described the opportunity at England as exciting and vowed to get “Twickenham buzzing”. He said: “It’s got to be the best job in world rugby because there is talent here. Whenever you’ve got talent you’ve got a chance to create something special. We’ve got talent here.
“I don’t think there’s any guarantee [about which coaches will stay]. I’ve got to pick the right staff. There are enough good English coaches there to pick from. I don’t need to go outside England to do that, generally speaking. If they can offer what I want then they can have the job, if they don’t then I’ll look at other options.”
England’s policy of not selecting players from outside the Premiership, notably Toulon’s Steffon Armitage and Clermont’s Nick Abendanon, was severely criticised after the World Cup defeats to Wales and Australia, which led to the hosts going out at the pool stage. Jones said: “If guys decide to play overseas they’ve given up the right to play for England. The exceptional circumstance rule is still there if we need it to be in place. I’m happy with the way it is now.”
