SKIP TO MAIN CONTENT

England to give Italy good hiding: Jones

Eddie Jones has warned his England rugby team will be out to give Italy a good hiding.

4 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Skip to article content

AP - Eddie Jones has welcomed the appointment of New Zealand referee Glen Jackson for England's next match as he urges his team to give Italy a "good hiding" in Rome.

The Jones era was launched with a 15-9 victory over Scotland at Murrayfield that has given the new regime breathing space ahead of the next assignment against an Azzurri team narrowly beaten by France on Saturday.

With the Calcutta Cup retained for an eighth year, Australian Jones joked: "I don't know what the cup's called in Italy - The Panini Cup? We'll win it" and England's new coach left little doubt over his objective at the Stadio Olimpico.

"We control our own destiny. We want to go to Rome and smack Italy," Jones said.

"I've already said to the boys that's our aim - to go out there and give them a good hiding. Italy are going to be tough because they should have beaten France, but that's our aim."

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Jones' biggest gripe at Murrayfield was with referee John Lacey and the appointment of Jackson for the match against Italy is far more to his liking.

"It's difficult to get a moving game under him (Lacey). He allows the defence a lot of advantage at the breakdown, so you have to play like that," Jones said.

"It'll be different conditions in Italy. Glen Jackson's the referee and he favours attacking teams that keep the ball alive, so we'll be able to play a bit more."

It was partly the influence of Lacey that resulted in an early demonstration of the pragmatism that Jones insists must define England's tactical blueprint.

Once it became apparent that early efforts at playing an expansive game were failing, the focus was switched to a conservative approach that consisted of George Ford kicking downfield and the pack pounding away up front. It bore dividends in the shape of a dominant second half.

"We made the change at half-time. We needed to tighten the game a bit. We were trying to force a game that wasn't going to come," Jones said.

"That's what I'm pleased about - the team really adjusted, really read the game. It goes back to what we were saying about being a pragmatic side.

"We showed good pragmatism against Scotland. You find a way to win and you do it.

"Fans are pragmatic too. If we'd tossed the ball around and lost 17-16, no one would have said 'oh, they played wonderful rugby'.

"I've been through all that. I coached the Brumbies in 2000, we were the best team in the competition, had the ball for 70 per cent of the final and lost 20-19.

"No one congratulated us on that performance. We were super that day and we were beaten. It's all about winning. Fans like winning teams."

Jones views the victory in Edinburgh as a cathartic moment for those players haunted by England's failure to advance from the pool stage of last autumn's World Cup.

"It's virtually the same group of players that went through that tournament, which wasn't a good experience," he said.

"A couple of boys were talking about it the other night. At the end of the Australian game they were looking and they just couldn't believe what had happened. That's a pretty difficult situation.

"To recover and then to come out in the space of two weeks together and put out that sort of collective performance...."


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world