Like him or loathe him, it’s impossible to argue against the impact Eddie Jones has made as England’s head coach.
There are caveats of course – Ireland could have won at Twickenham but for a couple of iffy decisions from both players and officials; Wales very nearly pulled off a comeback that would have gone down as one of the greatest capitulations in Six Nations history – but Jones has clearly got a talented English side on the front foot during his short time in charge.
The emergence of players such as the ridiculously talented Maro Itoje has obviously helped, but if England claim a Grand Slam today it will be an astonishing start to Jones’ tenure and a sign that England will once again be a force on the global stage in the years to come.
Jones may be abrasive at times, and confrontational at others, but there are many reasons for the former Japan coach’s methods paying off during the seven weeks in charge.
Some of the key changes he has implemented since taking over from Stuart Lancaster have been revealed by The Telegraph’s Mick Cleary.
The key difference, unsurprisingly, is attitude. Gone is a lot of the mumbo jumbo that surrounded the England team in recent years when at times they seemed more of a marketing experiment than a sporting entity.
Jones has instilled a culture where winning is paramount.
He has taken the ‘motivational’ slogans off the wall at their training base.
He has abandoned the walk through the car park at Twickenham, a tactic brought in by Lancaster in the wake of the 2011 World Cup fiasco and designed, in theory, to bring the side closer to the fans.
As Cleary puts it: “The state-of-the-art changing rooms at Twickenham have become a place in which to put your shirt, not somewhere to lift performance artificially.”
Steve Borthwick, Paul Gustard and sports psychologist and former cricketer Jeremy Snape have been added to the backroom team. Jonny Wilkinson and former Australian flanker George Smith also provide input.
Jones has abandoned the mid-week day off when players usually returned home to see their families. Hours spent in a car a few days before a match is not conducive to bodies being limber. Now families come to the players. They can have a beer or a glass of wine. But they do it in Pennyhill Park.
Jones treats every player differently recognising that if you have 30-40 men together there are going to be different personalities at play. A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work.
“Under this regime, I’m enjoying it more than I have ever done,” says James Haskell.
“It is the happiest time I have ever had in an England camp. The one-brush-sweeping-all policy, treating every player the same, doesn’t work. We all have different emotional needs and Eddie understands that. I feel for the first time in my career that there is someone who knows how to talk to players and get the best out of them.”
No player is immune from criticism – even captain Dylan Hartley was called out publicly by Jones this week.
For now they all seem to recognise that Jones is motivated by the greater good.
But he will be ruthless when needed. “You’re too fat and not sharp enough” is what he has said to have told Ben Youngs.
Youngs responded with his best performance in years against Wales.
Ultimately, the main thing Jones has instilled is a cultural change. Fear of failure has been replaced with a desire for victory.
“England looked in the World Cup as if they were all about being worried about what there was to lose rather than what there was to win,” says Exeter’s director of rugby, Rob Baxter,
“They looked scared at what was at stake, frightened to be themselves, to embrace the experience. Eddie is comfortable with who he is and what he does. And that has rubbed off on everyone.”
