Eddie Jones has only been in the England coaching job since the beginning of the month but already he deserves some sympathy. For private remarks made at an off-the-record social function to have found their way so quickly into the public domain is not a helpful start; when the subject involves the sensitive issue of the England captaincy still technically in the possession of Chris Robshaw, it makes life trickier still.
No wonder Jones is understood to be extremely annoyed that his quiet words of praise for Dylan Hartley and his leadership potential in an England jersey have now been printed. It is not merely Robshaw who will be feeling undermined; what about Tom Youngs and England’s other hooking contenders? Given he has not played for the past six weeks after suffering a significant concussion, even Hartley could have done without the unnecessary extra public scrutiny.
But now the Twickenham cat is already among the pre-Christmas pigeons, it merely underlines what anyone with a working knowledge of Jones’s methods has long known. The former Australia and Japan head coach did not get where he is today by pussy-footing around, nor by selecting teams who proceed in a similar manner. He has always favoured players with a glint in their eye and the stomach for a stoush, particularly up front. Hartley, when available, generally fits those criteria even if he is not playing at his absolute best.
The two sides of that equation were neatly summed up by Exeter Chiefs’ sage head coach, Rob Baxter, on Thursday. Like everyone else, the latter is well aware of Hartley’s disciplinary record, including five suspensions in a little over three years. Along with any rugby coach worth his salted caramel, however, Baxter also sees the value in a tight five with a bit of devil in it. “If Eddie Jones is very comfortable he can manage Dylan Hartley and bring the best out of him, I haven’t got an issue with that at all,” said Baxter, who had a lengthy meeting with Jones earlier this week. “Every coach has to run with the captain they personally feel comfortable with. Whatever reasons those are … he obviously feels comfortable with Dylan.”
It is also Baxter’s view that Hartley’s problems, particularly his latest ban for clashing with Jamie George which ruled him out of the World Cup, have been as much about the poor timing of his indiscretions as the magnitude of them. “At the end of the day Dylan has not got a bad disciplinary record with England. You look at it and it’s not as if he’s been out on a Friday night and beaten a granny up. The truth is with a lot of players, particularly guys who play their best when they are right there on the edge, you are going to get the odd issue now and again. It’s about whether you feel confident enough as a coach to manage through that scenario. If [Jones] does, then fantastic. I haven’t got a problem with that at all.”
Nor is it necessarily a state secret that England could do with a post-World Cup jolt, in whatever form it materialises. Just as Exeter, heading to central France to play Clermont Auvergne this weekend, look to forwards such as as their English-qualified Australian-born lock Mitch Lees to play hard ball when required, so the England pack need to bristle more consistently if they are to start winning Six Nations titles, let alone World Cups.
The key is to pick players who are equipped to stand their ground under pressure and, crucially, have free rein to express themselves regardless of the occasion. “I don’t think it’s the right thing to say ‘pick an edgier, nastier pack,’” says Baxter. “It’s a bit odd to say the England forwards Stuart Lancaster has been selecting haven’t had a hard edge and a bit of spark and character about them because I think they have. Guys like Joe Marler and Tom Youngs are physical, tough guys … when Courtney Lawes is on fire for Northampton he’s probably one of the scariest defenders in the world, in Europe. It’s about the mindset they want to go in with as much as the selection of individual players.”
Instilling that kind of sparky, spiky attitude will be partially down to Paul Gustard, now confirmed as England’s new defence coach. Neither he nor Jones have been hired to preside over a nice, polite, after-you-Claude bunch of underachievers, as the Six Nations squad selection may well make clear. Jones will be seeking maximum commitment on and off the field, regardless of who wears the captain’s armband against Scotland at Murrayfield on 6 February.
