The last 4 years, according to Eddie Jones, had been a build up to the World Cup, in which everything that came with it should be regarded as preparation, with Jones to be judged purely on England’s performance at the tournament. Until Saturday morning, this had all gone according to plan. England had been, without question in my eyes, the best performing team at the 2019 World Cup, with all of Eddie’s experiments, game management, media grenades and game plan coming together to produce an almost faultless World Cup campaign. South Africa themselves had started the tournament poorly and been involved in an incredibly unconvincing semi final against Wales. Japan produced two X-factor performances against Ireland and Scotland but got strangled by South Africa. New Zealand started brightly, but a chastising beating at the hands of England put their World Cup and questionable Rugby Championship performance into perspective. Wales managed to win a lot of games, but never seemed to get themselves out third gear, and were appropriately strangled by South Africa. And that’s exactly what South Africa did to England, too. Strangled within an inch of their lives, England had no momentum, no go forward, no gain line breaks, no dynamism and ultimately no idea. This came off the back of a routine group stage for England, which would have included a win over France if not for the devastating typhoon which caused havoc and disaster far away from the rugby field. Australia felt the force of not only their own horrific exit strategy on the pitch and the turmoil off it over the last 18 months, as well as a beautifully executed England game plan. New Zealand were subjected to one of the greatest England performances of all time; the Kamikaze Kids knocking some of the game’s greats out of any form of contention, George Ford dictating a game at his and England’s own pace, the hardest bastard in rugby Owen Farrell refusing to back down on any level and Manu Tuilagi back to his best performance since the last time he tore New Zealand to shreds. And that brings us to the final. But before I dissect this, the last 4 year ‘cycle’ has to be looked at for the long-term masterplan which it was, just falling short at the final hurdle.
Eddie Jones kicked off his reign in 2016 in wonderful fashion. A grand slam and a 3-0 whitewash series win in Australia saw England exorcise their demons. England had been slated within an inch of their existence by media from all around the world after an abysmal 2015 World Cup campaign. One poor decision by Chris Robshaw against Wales and the rest is very painful history. But Robshaw was essential to that spell of Jones’ reign. Him and James Haskell combining to produce some mesmerising performances, led by a reborn captain in Dylan Hartley who took England’s soft underbelly and reinforced it with brute force and unremitting work rate. The Ford-Farrell axis carving teams up and allowing England to exploit gaps with their duel distribution and kicking game. Electric wingers such as Johnny May and Anthony Watson rising from decent test players to nearing world class status; both of them cementing this accolade come the World Cup. Billy Vunipola bringing a dynamism and brutality the likes of which had not been seen from him yet. Moulding young players such as Sam Underhill and Tom Curry into hard hitting, tenacious units playing beyond their tender years and number of caps. Jones used more players during this 4-year period than any other international head coach. Back row combinations were tested with a whole host of talent, from Brad Shields to Don Armand, Matt Kvesic to Zach Mercer. Midfield partnerships were tried and tested, from Luther Burrell to Alex Lozowski. The front row saw a host of props slot in, including Ben Moon and Alec Hepburn. The back three moved from new to old and back again, Elliot Daly becoming a fullback throughout 2019, Mike Brown finding himself being recalled and dropped, Chris Ashton returning from his England exile in fine form. Jones’ constant experimentation was always with the World Cup in mind, testing combinations and options with Japan at the forefront of every considered change. While teams seemed mashed and pundits often criticised England for not being sure of their starting XV less than three months out from the World Cup, Jones had put himself and the team through its paces by his continual chopping and changing. Jones couldn’t just sit back and imagine how potential combinations and strategies would work- he needed to see them in action to truly see who had the capabilities to deliver on the biggest stage.
Jones’ reign continued through slippery slopes, including a horrific 2018 Six Nations, which featured one of the most painful England losses, coming against Scotland at Murrayfield. The images of Stuart Hogg and Grieg Laidlaw at the final whistle and on the ensuing night out after having been burned long in the memories of England fans far and wide. All this time, Jones consistently reminded the fans and media to judge him purely on the World Cup, as this was all preparation for that showpiece. Jones not only experimented a lot with players and game plans, but also persisted with players and game plans when the chips were down, knowing that pushing individuals through the hardest of mental and physical barriers would benefit them come September, October and November in 2019. Experimenting with locks in the back row, various backs in various back three or midfield positions were slated and welcomed alike, with them all various experiments for the World Cup when anything can happen- and all to varying degrees and levels of success. Jones was always trying to keep his players guessing and working so that when something went wrong on the pitch, they had the capabilities to deal with it. We were often inundated with reports of England players being ‘flogged’ in training, often leading to questions over their fitness come game day, explaining their lacklustre performances in those losses. This was particularly evident when England very often went ahead in games, only to find themselves down and losing by the last 5 minutes. The South Africa tour was dominated by this, and a shocking draw against Scotland at Twickenham was the same story. The South Africa tour, resulting in a 2-1 loss for England, in hindsight seemed to be a turning point for the team. While the inclusion of Danny Cipriani dominated the headlines, England suffered two painful losses which seemed to kick them into life for the remainder of the year. England went into the last test of that tour having lost their last five matches in a row, six if you count a defeat to a Chris Ashton-inspired Barbarians outfit at Twickenham. All the while, Jones maintained the rhetoric- judge me on the World Cup, these bad situations are all good preparation for what can happen in the most intense tournament in international rugby.
Autumn 2018 saw great changes. Owen Farrell as sole captain was taking every single game by the scruff of the neck, not just in his play but also his captaincy. His players would die for him, literally running through brick walls. A tense game against South Africa resulted in England winning by one point, with Farrell’s tackle technique the main talking point. This dominated autumn 2018. This was almost a good thing, as the pressure was coming off England’s performances and preparations but focusing on this. This was a classic aspect of the Jones era. He would do everything in his power to take the attention off his team. If this meant putting it all on himself, the opposition, the opposition’s coach (often Warren Gatland or Michael Chieka) or the World Cup, Jones was very good at taking the pressure and focus off England. This was often Jones’ masterstroke. For instance, when England toured and thrashed Australia in the summer of 2016, Jones managed to use the Australian media’s disdain for him and glee at England’s failures against them, taking the pressure off England thus allowing them to play freely and effectively. The autumn of 2018 had its showpiece Australia win, but this was preceded by pushing New Zealand all the way, only for a collapse of the lineout and an agonising offside to dampen English hearts in torrential conditions. This was followed by a mixed Six Nations which featured a gut-wrenching loss to Wales, but also a Six Nations classic in which England destroyed Ireland in Dublin, and a car crash of a draw against Scotland, with a Twickenham massacre of France included for good measure. The World Cup warm up games which followed heralded great progress and solidified England’s position as one of the favourites. An absolute thrashing of Ireland, beating a newly number one ranked team in Wales and a second half routing of Italy showed England’s power game and relentless finishing ability.
After the warmup games came the start of England’s wonderful World Cup campaign. Tonga and the USA ruthlessly, if not structurally, picked off, England did not show their hand too much. The same can be said for the Argentina game, in which England maintained complete control of the game from minute one to 80. The France game promised great things, but sadly we did not see this spectacle due to Typhoon Hagibis. I may sound like an arrogant Englishman when I say this, but on England’s form and France’s patchy performances in the group stage, England would have won the game convincingly. The quarter final thrashing of Australia was a wonderful performance and result, with a tactical masterclass from Jones bringing home the bacon. England had a mere 36% possession, having the ball for only 10 minutes and 34 seconds, according to Opta. This is the lowest amount in a game since Opta began recording this type of data in 2010. Jones knew that England’s superior defence could soak up Australia attacks for a long period, and that the men in white’s devastating line speed could cause a somewhat risk-taking Australia back line many problems. This was proven by Jonny May’s beautiful try in which Henry Slade intercepted and put him through with an inch perfect kick, and Anthony Watson’s late score, intercepting a logic-defying pass from Kurtley Beale, who had been a liability for Australia for the whole game. Jones had been heavily criticised in the build up for 'dropping' George Ford. Jones maintained this was 'changing his role', but regardless he reaped the rewards as Farrell, Slade and Tuilagi combined to nullify the threat of Samu Kerevi. England were flying high, but many expected them to come crashing down in their next game against an All Black side fresh off the back of thumping Ireland.
It was not to be for the sceptics. England’s flying V response and Farrell’s wry smile during the Haka has now created one of rugby’s most iconic moments, with the image sure to be a staple of every television montage and mash up for decades to come. And boy, did the response work. New Zealand were totally rattled. England produced potentially the greatest England display of all time, dominating New Zealand from back to front. England scored an early try, moving New Zealand from side to side before Tuilagi punched his way through the middle to score a breathtaking try. Farrell picked up a dead leg early in the game, but the only thing more likely than him leaving the field was England letting up. Neither of these things happened. The only time the All Blacks had an attack, which they scored from, was from England effectively gifting them the try from a lineout. The scariest thing to consider is how many teams could possibly have two disallowed tries, their best player effectively not playing due to a dead leg and two young flankers with a mere 32 caps between them dominating the tackle, breakdown and lineout, and yet still destroy the All Blacks. England were virtually faultless, and expectations were high.
So, we come to Saturday the 2nd of November. A final against a resurgent South Africa. England favourites. South Africa still dangerous. Despite all of this, England arrived 25 minutes late for the biggest game of their careers (so far). I don’t understand how this could have possibly happened, but it will have definitely played a role in what followed. You can picture the scene of jittery England players stuck on the bus, arriving to see South Africa already going through their warm up, preparing for such a huge game. The final went very wrong for England, and so right for South Africa. A lot of pundits have said over the last 4 years that with England, you can tell how they’re going to play judging by the first 10 minutes or so. Sadly for England, the first 10 minutes was an absolute disaster. The penalty after 40 seconds against Courtney Lawes was frustrating, harsh and needless. It set a tone for how frustrating the opening would be for England. It is my genuine belief that if it were not for that opening penalty, the game could have run a different course. That is not to take anything away from South Africa, but England, already clearly rattled, were immediately on the backfoot. This was no more frustrating than the Kyle Sinckler situation, in which a concussion forced him off without even touching the ball. As a result, Dan Cole came onto the field, resulting in a horrendous England scrum. South Africa were much more physical and England’s leaders (of which admittedly there aren’t many) did not step up to the occasion. Nerves took over and mistakes were made. Jones arguably could’ve never prepared his players for not only those circumstances, but also South Africa being that much better. The Boks were driven by something beyond sport - doing their struggling country and people proud, united behind a black captain representing something so much more important than the Rugby World Cup. South Africa were tenacious, aggressive and clinical. England were the opposite, blown away by a shaky start before and during the game, unable to control South Africa’s power game. The England scrum provides a writer with the perfect summary of their overall performance - an incredible amount of hard work and huffing and puffing, but just not strong enough. Of the games which England lost/drew under Jones, one aspect often rang true. I will be using the examples of South Africa in the final on Saturday; Wales at the Principality in the 2019 Six Nations; Ireland’s destruction of England at Twickenham in the 2018 Six Nations; the aforementioned loss to Scotland at Murrayfield in that same campaign, and the infamous draw to Scotland despite being 31-0 up just before half time at Twickenham in 2019. Jones’ England struggled in these games against teams whose goals seemed to transcend sport; teams whose passion and desire to beat their opposition were on another level. South Africa, as their coaches and players have explained since their win, were playing for their struggling countrymen, decimated by corruption, violence and crime. South Africa had identified that survival in their own broken nation was so much more important than rugby, so their perspective and desperation was different. Every bone crunching tackle and shove in the scrum was not with individual egos in mind- it was about fighting to bring their troubled nation together. The stories of Siya Kolisi and Makazole Mapimpi are prime evidence of this. Wales were driven by a unity with one another, and loyalty to captain Alun Wyn Jones and coach Gatland the like of which has been unrivalled in test rugby. Scotland were motivated by disproving their critics and a hatred for England and their players which drove them to two devastating results. An Ireland side came to Twickenham buoyed by not only great form, but a burning passion (not least due to it being St Patrick's Day) for entering the history books as one of the most dominant Ireland sides to ever grace the game. While Jones seemed to have banished England’s demons from 2015, the one thing he seemingly failed to do was to prepare England for opposition so fuelled by their passion and drive.
Jones’ impact over the last 4 years cannot be remembered purely for this loss. England went on a record-breaking run in 2016 and provided their fans with one of the best England World Cup campaigns. The squad have emerged as a hardworking and very likeable group, playing for each other and Jones. The characters from the campaign should be the core and basis for every England squad over the next cycle, barring injuries, the next Johnny Wilkinson and losses of form. The Six Nations, far from many people’s minds, could be the perfect chance for England to prove that the World Cup final is not something to judge them off. This squad is special, on and off the pitch. For all those baffling, painful and frustrating moments of Jones’ reign, they were all part of the great tapestry of his masterplan, which fell just short of the ultimate final piece.
DISCLAIMER : I do not own the rights to the photos included in this article nor claim to.