England ready to do whatever it takes to win in Six Nations, Eddie Jones insists

Jones isn’t interested in criticism of England’s style of play

Duncan Bech
Tuesday 26 January 2021 06:52 EST
Comments
Jones isn’t interested in criticism of England’s style of play
Jones isn’t interested in criticism of England’s style of play (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Eddie Jones insists England will play whatever style of rugby it takes to be successful even if that means kicking their way to Guinness Six Nations glory.

Owen Farrell's team swept all before them last year, winning the Championship and Autumn Nations Cup after slipping to only one defeat in nine Tests, a run that cements second place in the global rankings.

Thrills were in short supply, however, as matches were dominated by defence, kicking and set-piece in a trend evident across most international teams.

Jones insists the tactics used are influenced by only one aim - what it takes to win in the circumstances.

"Maybe we haven't played as well as we could have - and we want to play better," Jones told the BBC's Rugby Union Weekly podcast .

"Our goal in the Six Nations is to play better rugby. It doesn't matter how many times you kick the ball, it's the quality of rugby you play.

"I tried to explain to the media why we were playing like we did and people had judgment on it, which is great because the more people who talk about rugby the better it is. We love it, we love people talking about different styles.

"We don't say, 'we are going to play like this'. We want to play good, effective rugby. And effective rugby is getting the ball to the other end of the field and scoring points. That is the currency we play by.

"If we can do it by running and passing and being attractive, then we want to do that. If we can do it by kicking, we will do it that way.

"So we are always looking to adapt and evolve our game. And the game you play is dependent on the opposition and the referee."

PA

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in