After Ireland’s comprehensive smashing of England I take a look at the fundamental flaw in the Jones era.

It would be fair to say, that had someone come up to me at the start of this six nations and told me that I would care about seeing Wales lose to France more than watching England lose to Ireland, I would’ve believed them. I would have believed them, only because I really don’t like the Welsh rugby team, and at the beginning of this championship, I expected England vs France to decide the tournament the week before. Instead, I could not muster an ounce of enthusiasm for Saturday’s least significant fixture. 

Scotland vs Italy had the intrigue of a Scottish team building momentum into the clash this weekend with France as well as seeing an Italy full of youth run out equipped with my two guilty pleasures, Garbisi and Loane. We learnt that Scotland are a legitimate threat, yes it was Italy, but they looked just as good as any other side in the tournament against the Azzurii. 

The Wales vs France match was stacked with tension before the whistle went and maintained it into the 82^nd minute. It was the consummate test match with the drama physicality and excellent refereeing that we had all been hoping for especially in light of the prior games in the tournament. We learnt that Wayne Pivac’s Wales side can hang with the best in the world, and we learnt that this French team, for the first time since Dusautoir and friends in 2007 had the guts to stay in a game till the last. 

When Raynal Blew the final whistle, we had learnt nothing about either side. This isn’t a slight to Ireland, we had it confirmed to us that they were a physical team with two all-time greats in the halfback slots, whose game management is nearly incomparable. England’s story is the complete opposite. One doesn’t have to be a genius to trace the trend that has existed in English rugby since the Jones era began. The Australian came in aiming to create a ‘traditional English team’; a team built on the strength of their forwards and the calmness of their game management. I’m loathe to talk about the 2003 world cup win for fear of sounding like Clive Woodward, but the segment leading up to Wilkinson’s drop goal is exactly the sort of team Jones wants to form. 

The issue with this formula is it hinges on forward dominance. If you need proof of how integral it is, one only needs to look at each of England’s defeats under the Jones era. South Africa in 2019, France in 2020, any of the losses in the similarly abysmal 2018 Six Nations, and now Ireland in 2021, and all of these losses started in the tight. Cheslin Kolbe’s step in the Final to beat Farrell and seal it for South Africa will forever be the image that resides in people’s heads, but that game was won by the work rate and physicality of Du Toit, de Jaeger and Vermeulen. Eerily similar to Saturday’s game, Keith Earl’s first try against England in some 10 years might well be the image that remains, but the game was won by the work of the player of the tournament in my book Tadgh Beirne, Stander and Van der Flier alongside the rest of the Irish pack. What frustrates us so much as England fans, is that many of us know this, it’s not a ground-breaking observation, yet England keep falling afoul of it.

A strategy that is so reliant on one aspect cannot be relied upon to work consistently. Further, this six nations has thrown the issue into a starker light, not just because of the losses but the selection also. The refusal to pick Dombrandt and Simmonds, despite obvious opportunity and reason, is centred on Jones’ commitment to this style of play. George Martin won his first cap in the loss to Ireland, and whilst he is no doubt a talented player with a great deal of potential, he rose to international status because he fits into the Jones Ideal. Martin, in his limited game time for Leicester proved himself to be a work horse. He’s a hard yards kind of player just as most of the England forwards are. Sinckler is one of the few with an ounce of flair, but he is also one of the better tight players in the world, and so fits into the Jones mould. With so many options in the premiership at the moment being side-lined in favour of the bigger Vunipola and an out of form Farrell, it is easy to see the influence that the Jones vision has had on selection, and the results speak for themselves. 

So where do we go from here? It’s a tough question especially as we are mid-world cup cycle, even more so considering what England achieved in 2019 under Jones. However the advantage of the world cup cycle is that it gives teams a chance to reinvigorate after every tournament, to introduce youth and develop the team to new heights. Jones is not using this cycle to do that, the Saracens selections and the refusal to include the most in form players available to him demonstrate an obstinance that is hurting English rugby. The summer tour to the USA, with a lions tour alongside it is the perfect opportunity to rectify this, a change must be seen for Jones to keep the faith of the RFU, the supporters but most importantly the players. The 2021 six nations must be the start of a rebirth, not the beginning of a slow decline. 

S.