Skip to main content

John tells England to make history against South Africa


England have won all nine out of their test  since Australian became their coach

Following the hosts' miserable first-round exit from last year's World Cup.

South Africa, by contrast have lost four of their last five including a record 57-15 defeat by world champions New Zealand in Durban last month.

Yet it is 10 years since England beat the Springboks, a run spanning 12 Tests.

"South Africa are coming off the back of what for them has been a disappointing season but we know they will come to Twickenham all geared up and ready to go," said Jones at England's Bagshot training base, southwest of London, on Thursday after announcing his side.

"We want to change the history of results between England and South Africa.

"We want to be the number one team in the world, so this game against South Africa on Saturday is another step forward."

- 'Back to the future' -

Jones, who worked alongside current South Africa head coach Allister Coetzee when they were both members of Jake White's backroom staff that helped the Springboks win the 2007 World Cup, said England knew what to expect.

“South African rugby traditionally has been about momentum. It’s about big ball-carriers carrying the ball over the gain-line.

"Given the side they’ve picked, nothing has changed. They’ve probably gone back to the past to go to the future.

"You think they were going to come to Twickenham with a small forward pack?

"It's easy to do selection in the Springboks," insisted Jones, who guided Japan to a shock upset win over the Heyneke Meyer-coached South Africa at last year's World Cup in England.

- 'Pray' -

"Jake White came to a coaching conference in Japan and said 'I don't even pick a prop unless he's 6ft tall because unless he's 6ft tall he can't lift the locks high enough in the line-out'.

"A little Japanese coach said 'what do you do if you haven't got a lock who is 6ft tall?'

"Jake just said to him, 'pray mate'.

"That's what they (South Africa) do, they just pick the biggest blokes."

However, Jones added: "I think it’s funny when people say this is a big physical challenge.

"I said to the (England) players today, ‘If you're not physical in rugby, you should be playing volleyball or curling.’

"South Africa is no different from any other team... But the tactical part is different -- there are ways to get to South Africa and I think we will be smart enough to get to them on Saturday."

South Africa's recent results have intensified the pressure on Coetzee but Jones said: "He is a great rugby guy.

"Some of my funniest memories in rugby have been with him, so I want him to do well, but I don't want him to do well on Saturday."

With Coetzee facing racial quota selection questions in post-apartheid South Africa, there are many who believe he has the hardest coaching job in world rugby.

Former Australia coach Jones was not so sure.

"Every job has its challenges," he said.

"You coach Scotland, you've got a small player pool, you coach Ireland you've got a small player pool.

"If you coach England you've got a massive player pool but an intense media, that we love and have a great relationship with!

"Allister has got a unique set of socio-political issues. That is part of the country and he knows he has got to coach to those issues.

"He's a coloured guy that's come through, he's played Currie Cup in the coloured competition.

"He's fought his way up to be a coach for the Springboks, as an assistant and now as a head coach.

"He knows what's ahead of him and he's doing a fantastic job."
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Plane that crashed in Malta was monitoring migrant trafficking off Libya for France

VALLETTA, MALTA—A small plane heading toward Libya’s coast to monitor migrant trafficking routes for the French government crashed soon after takeoff from Malta’s airport Monday, killing all five French crew members, authorities said. The twin-prop Fairchild Metroliner banked to the right and slammed into the ground in a huge fireball soon after lifting off at 7:20 a.m., according to video of the moment captured by a dashboard videocam and posted on Facebook. Malta’s government said all five victims were French. It said the flight was part of a French Customs surveillance operation tracing routes of illicit trafficking, both of humans and drugs, leaving Libya’s lawless coasts. Libya is the main point of departure for the tens of thousands of migrants who have been paying smugglers to bring them toward Europe by boat. Earlier, authorities had said the flight was headed to Misrata, Libya; the government said later that the aircraft was due to return to Malta within a few hours withou...
Post a Comment
Read more

First woman president in Namibia

Namibia has its first woman president. Namibians say it won’t mean much for women Namibia’s presidential and National Assembly elections this year have been historic on many fronts. They were the country’s most controversial elections, with accusations of foreign interference and election rigging at the forefront; while the country’s first female president was elected. The South West Africa People’s Organisation’s (Swapo’s) Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah was announced as the president-elect on Tuesday night, with 57.69% of the vote. The announcement was made at the Electoral Commission of Namibia’s (ECN’s) headquarters in Windhoek, but many parties were absent — contributing to a sombre mood. Multiple parties, including the incoming official opposition party, the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), and the Landless People’s Movement (LPM) boycotted the announcement, as they do not recognise the election’s results. In a statement issued moments before the announcement, the IPC reaffirmed its...
Post a Comment
Read more

Donald Trump touts foreign contacts on Twitter, lashes media report

WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump used his Twitter account on Wednesday to denounce reports of problems in his transition team, singling out the New York Times for saying world leaders have had trouble getting in touch with him. Trump, whose aggressive use of Twitter against rivals was a key element of his presidential campaign, tweeted a list of several world leaders he had spoken with since his upset victory in the  Australia, New Zealand, and more. I am always available to them. @nytimes is just upset that they looked like fools in their coverage of me," Trump continued. He focused on the Times, a frequent Twitter target for Trump, because it said U.S. allies were "scrambling to figure out how and when to contact Mr. Trump." "The failing @nytimes story is so totally wrong on transition," he tweeted. "It is going so smoothly. Also, I have spoken to many foreign leaders." On Tuesday night, Trump had defended his transition team amid reports ...
Post a Comment
Read more