Red cards and a defeat fair price for safety, says England coach Eddie Jones

By Duncan Bech

England head coach Eddie Jones insists the possibility of one of the autumn Tests being decided by a controversial red card is a price worth paying to make the game safer.

Referees have been instructed to enforce a crackdown on dangerous tackles, particularly those that are high, as part of a drive to cut down instances of concussion.

The hard-line approach to officiating defence has produced a number of contentious red cards already this season, the highest profile being Danny Cipriani’s dismissal on Gloucester duty against Munster a fortnight ago.

England open the QBE Internationals against South Africa at Twickenham today and Jones accepts that one result over the coming weeks is sure to be influenced by a sending-off.

“Yes it is inevitable, but so be it. If the game’s going to be better, then that’s the price you’ve got to pay,” said Jones.

“I was involved in the original committee about the tackle height and we need to make the game safer.

“Has common sense been applied to the law? You’re probably better than me to make judgements on that, but the law is right and we need to keep moving in that direction.

“Everyone said when they brought in outlawing the tip-tackle that it would be a horrific situation. Within six months no-one talks about a tip tackle, now.”

“It’s out of the game, it’s a safer game for the players and it’s the same thing that will happen with the tackle law.

“There will be an adjustment period that is always difficult, but we’ll get through that adjustment period and the game will be safer.”

Jones has placed the responsibility to avoid making dangerous tackles onto his players, limiting the time spent addressing the new directives from World Rugby at the squad’s Portugal training camp.

“The law doesn’t look after you if you tackle high, it’s just the way it is,” said the 58-year-old.

“We haven’t spent that much time on it and we don’t intend to, because the players just have to learn it’s a new game now.

“Each player has got to adjust their technique. It’s not a team thing, it’s each player has to learn to adjust their technique to the tackle and they’ve got to do it themselves.

“We monitor all their actions in training. If they’re tackling too high in training, we’ll talk to them.”

Brad Shields will win his third cap against the Springboks as part of an inexperienced England back row that also features Tom Curry and Mark Wilson, with the trio numbering only 10 Test appearances between them.

South Africa are fielding a giant pack, including Malcolm Marx, Duane Vermeulen, Eben Etzebeth and Warren Whitely, pointing to a ferocious forward contest in the opening Quilter International.

“It’s pretty obvious what they are going to bring,” said Shields, who made his England debut against the Springboks in June.

“A massive thing for South Africans is their emotion and their brutality. They want to be the dominant forward pack. Even some of their big backs want to be that dominant force!

“If we can match that, if not better, at set piece, that will go a long way taking away some of their good play.

“South Africa are looking pretty good at the moment. No-one is hiding away from that, they are playing some really good rugby, but we’re massively confident in our ability. There is no-one in our forward pack that is second guessing why they are there.

“We’ve done our work to put ourselves in the best possible position to play our rugby.”

Shields, who qualifies for England through his parents, is still getting to grips with life in his adopted country after swapping Wellington for Coventry-based Wasps during the summer.

“I think the biggest difference I’ve noticed is the laundry being in the kitchen... the washing machine being there,” he said.

“I’m not used to washing the clothes next to where you do the dishes and cook the food! It’s just a little culturally different.

“I don’t do a lot of the washing at the moment anyway so I don’t have to worry about it.”