England’s last experiment with rugby league may have blown up in their faces when Sam Burgess returned to the 13-man game after the disastrous World Cup last year but one of Eddie Jones’s lieutenants is convinced that union can learn a lot from the other code.
Jones’s England training squad are preparing in Brighton for two days before their four-match Test programme this autumn. But a year on from the Australian masterminding the biggest shock in World Cup history when his Japan team beat the Springboks a couple of miles away at the Amex Stadium, England’s coaches are not on the south coast to enjoy this week’s sunny weather.
Paul Gustard, the England defence coach, has spent time since the 3-0 Test series win in Australia visiting rugby league clubs and he believes the England rugby union side can learn a lot from other sports.
He said: “I’ve visited New Zealand Warriors, Wigan and Warrington during the summer and picked up a lot about their defensive systems. We missed over 80 tackles in the three Tests in Australia and in the third Test we were off the pace. I was in a dark place after that game because we didn’t perform adequately enough.
“That may seem like a strange thing after beating Australia but the game at this level is about small margins and, as coaches, we have to keep improving. That is Eddie’s mantra. He is always saying we have to get better. That’s not unfair criticism. The second Test was a true representation of where we are at but the third was not.
“Other sports can teach us a lot. That’s why we have turned to judo and rugby league, to learn new skills. We haven’t beaten South Africa since 2006 and no one in this squad has beaten the Springboks. We’re aware of that and we have to get better. They may be a side in transition but South Africa are hardened to Test rugby and they’ll come here with a lot of experience.”
England play South Africa on 12 November and the first of the autumn Tests will be followed by matches against Fiji, Argentina and Australia on successive weekends. Meanwhile, the squad is putting bodies on the line in Brighton to prepare for a demanding month.
On Monday members of the 37-man training squad took part in judo sessions with the GB Olympic coaches JP Bell and Kate Howey and the training session on Tuesday promises to be brutal. Gustard and the forwards coach, Steve Borthwick, have been impressed by the contribution so far from Leicester’s Mike Williams and Sam Jones of Wasps who are vying for the injured James Haskell’s No7 shirt this autumn.
Gustard said: “Sam Jones and Mike are very physical and confrontational and Sam is exceptionally explosive.”
Jones is also considering moving Maro Itoje from the second row to the open-side. All three players can expect to be called into the final squad for the game against South Africa which is named on 26 October. Four days later England will fly off to Portugal for warm-weather training. One man who sidestepped the judo session yesterday was Owen Farrell, whose back problem has sidelined him this season. The fly-half could return to club action this weekend when his Saracens side meet Premiership leaders Wasps.
