Eddie Jones’ metaphors frequently shift, but his message remains mostly constant. Previously, it was how hand grenades detonate when the pressure increases; more recently, it was an elaborate parallel to the effort to kill Osama bin Laden; and on Friday, it was the uncertainty around mortgage rates in a deteriorating economy.
Each time, the question is whether Jones’s players can respond to events in real-time and adapt on the fly. Due to the recurrence of the underlying issue, the message is rarely revised. Jones believes that the current international situation is more unstable than ever before.
The chance of yellow and red cards, as well as the possibility of player injury, has never been greater. Because World Rugby has made it more difficult for coaches to communicate with their players on the field, on-field leadership and adaptability have become two of the most essential traits for anyone with aspirations of winning next year’s World Cup.
“[In 2019], we had fewer red and yellow cards than we do now. “If you consider how the game is progressing, this will only rise,” added Jones. And the attention paid to head traumas among athletes will only rise. We do not know how it will conclude. In contrast, the game was far more settled before 2019. The global order improved.
This leads us to Jones’s decision to reinstall Owen Farrell as England’s captain for Sunday’s Test against Argentina, maybe for the remainder of the fall, and possibly through France 2023. Indeed, when Jones refers to this campaign as a dress rehearsal for the World Cup, it appears that Farrell is auditioning for the major role.
On the one hand, the decision was straightforward. Courtney Lawes may still be Jones’ top option for the World Cup if he is healthy, but the head coach is offering strong support to a player he believes does not receive the respect he deserves.
On the other hand, the risk is calculated. That the competitive streak in Farrell that Jones admires so much does not enhance the risk of those explosives exploding again – especially as the head coach places a greater emphasis on the ability to talk calmly with officials.
For Farrell, the most glaring example is the Six Nations loss in Cardiff in 2021, when he lost his cool with referee Pascal Gaüzère and allowed Wales two dubious tries. There have been others, such as the surrender in the 2019 draw with Scotland, but it is unjust to place the blame only on Farrell. It affects the entire squad – Jones has recruited many psychologists to bring about reforms – and Tom Curry was responsible for this year’s Six Nations loss to Scotland.
England’s dismal failure to turn the tide against 14-man Australia in the inaugural summer Test, when Lawes was captain, is another example. “Your leadership must be adaptable,” Jones remarked. “Now more than ever, after the whistle blows, we [coaches] have very little input because it is impossible to communicate with players on the field.”
This is what Jones means when he refers to the upcoming fall season as a dress rehearsal for the World Cup next year. Four years ago, he arranged a sushi night at England’s Bagshot headquarters to demonstrate to his players what to anticipate in Japan. However, the squad is already familiar with France, and Jones is more concerned with testing his players’ ability to deal with the unpredictable.
For gone are the days when Jones, while in charge of the Brumbies or Japan, practically programmed his players with quarter-specific instructions. He stated, “We do not know what form the game will take, and that is the potential.” “We want to be on the cutting edge of that. Our objective is to be at our best at the World Cup and to establish a versatile team capable of adapting to any situation.
The appointments of Jack Nowell and Ellis Genge as vice-captains are intended to provide a counterbalance to Farrell’s ferocity, and as Jones explains, “both players are quite empathic.
They are exceptionally skilled at bringing people together.” Nowell does not appear to be leadership material in the usual sense, but he is a popular person whose talents likely lay in his ability to find the off button. Richard Cockerill, the forward’s coach, remarked that Genge is “very socially aware” and another player to whom teammates are naturally drawn.
To solely concentrate on the leadership group and Farrell as captain risks diminishing Farrell’s significance as a player. This irritates Jones, and it should be remembered that on Sunday he starts Marcus Smith, Owen Farrell, and Manu Tuilagi in the midfield for the first time. It is the combination Jones intends to field at the World Cup, and it will increase the pace of fans making their way to Twickenham.
Since the first time Farrell inherited the post, the question of whether the captaincy liberates or shackles him has been up for debate, and his leadership on Sunday will be scrutinized more than ever. A pillar of Jones’s crew, however? Put a mortgage on the home.
