Eddie Jones said he took responsibility for what he described as an awful performance as England got the defence of their Six Nations title off to a winning start with a late comeback win against France.
England broke their record of 14 consecutive Test match victories, but the head coach said he was less concerned with that and more with making sure there was a significant improvement against Wales at the Principality Stadium on Saturday.
“I did not prepare the team well enough and even though it is always good to win when you don’t play well, I have a lot of homework to do over the weekend,” Jones said. “Have I been too nice to the players and smiling too much? Maybe I need to be a bit harder. We were off the pace and it was quite strange. At half-time we weren’t even panting; it wasn’t like we had played a game of rugby.
“It was a great result for the match-day 23 and what puts us in good stead is the strength we have on the bench. We were without four top-class forwards but could still bring on players of quality. James Haskell did fantastically, especially for a guy who had hardly played all season, and so did Ben Te’o.
“But there is no doubt that we have got to improve. I was looking at England’s record in Cardiff over the years and only 40 per cent of the Tests there have been won by England. Perhaps it is something to do with crossing the River Severn, but we have nice selection issues and the never-say-die-attitude of the players got us through.”
England only led for 15 minutes of the match, with Te’o scoring the winning try with 10 to go. There were times when it looked as if the absence of the injured Vunipola brothers, Mako and Billy, would be the difference between victory and defeat, with England struggling to get over the gainline, but Haskell and Te’o provided thrust from the bench.
“We missed the Vunipolas, but that is no excuse,” said Jones. “We have to be able to play without them. I always thought we were going to win the game, even though we were awful. I don’t think it was down to complacency: we were so far away from playing with our usual get-up-and-go.
“Maybe the players went back to their club habits. We sat back, did not secure quick ruck ball and could not attack. At the end of the day, we won, and I am happy because I know we can get better. I thought the French were tiring in the second half and we could have broken them earlier.”
Te’o scored his try two minutes after coming off the bench for his first appearance in the Six Nations. He said: “I like to provide a bit of impact, but I can start, too. I know what is required of me in the squad and I focus on that. It was a case of being in the right place at the right time and we work a lot on that in training.
“The match was a little bit ugly, but I was not watching too much. I was trying to get myself ready for when I got on and not get emotionally involved. We have got a few things we have to tidy up and we know we can get better.”
