England threaten southern hemisphere rugby hegemony
England’s victory over Ireland in Dublin on Sunday buried the hoodoo of three last-gasp Grand Slam failures and extended their winning run to a record-equalling 11 Test matches.
It is a sequence which includes autumn wins over Jones’ Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and landed England their first championship clean sweep since 1995.
Jones came to Europe on a fact-finding mission during the RBS 6 Nations and left impressed, not simply by England’s brilliance but also of the strides taken by the likes of Italy.
European rugby, he believes, is setting the standard, with all-conquering England the flag-bearers.
“I think we have always had a tendency in the past to think the southern hemisphere was progressive, but in the northern hemisphere there is certainly a lot of good rugby going on,” said Jones, who was at Twickenham to witness Clive Woodward’s side rip through Italy in the opening 20 minutes.
“In terms of preparation and practice, we can learn a lot from northern hemisphere rugby.
“I think the Grand Slam confirmed England to be the best side in Europe. They have been impressive in terms of their consistency and high level of performance.
“It is a confirmation of their high standards. I thought England were very impressive.”
Italy stretched Scotland to the brink on Saturday and, having beaten Wales to record only their second championship victory, have shown marked improvement under their New Zealand coaching duo.
“Italy have improved a lot,” said Jones. “They are very well coached by John Kirwan and Leicester Routledge and it just goes to show that when the sides outside the top eight in the world get some consistent programmes in place, they can improve quickly.”
Following the 42-6 victory at Lansdowne Road, England were touted as World Cup favourites by vanquished Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan and France coach Bernard Laporte.
But before the showpiece tournament kicks off in Sydney in October, England travel to play New Zealand in Wellington before crossing the Tasman sea for what will be a key showdown with the Wallabies in Melbourne.
Following their swing through the southern hemisphere, England then face Wales in Cardiff before tackling France home and away.
England may have proved they can win away from fortress Twickenham, but the general view Down Under is that they still have much to prove in the conditions and on the harder surfaces of the southern hemisphere.
Jones added that June’s Test will give a clear insight into England’s true strengths, given the match will be played in the English off-season, while Australia will be building towards their annual Tri-Nations.
“I think it’s impressive that England have won away from Twickenham. The results show that at the moment, certainly last year, 78% of the games were won by home teams. The big test is for sides to win away from home,” Jones added.
“I think it will be a very good test. England have done well against southern hemisphere sides playing in their autumn, our spring, and it will be very good to see how they cope with the reverse.
“It will be very interesting to see where England are.”
One thing Jones knows for certain is the impact star fly-half Jonny Wilkinson makes on any game he plays, and the former ACT Brumbies coach rated him the most complete stand-off in world rugby. “He is a world-class player,” said Jones.
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