Just what Eddie Jones needs, more ex-players wading in with strong opinions.
Jamie Heaslip, Fiona Coghlan and Stephen Ferris all shared their opinions of England after their 23-19 victory over Wales, at the weekend.
None of the former Ireland internationals are fully convinced of the latest direction England head coach Eddie Jones is taking his side, or if there is a direction at all.
Jones will get to them, in time. On Saturday evening, he had his hands full dealing with his former No.15, Mike Brown.
Ahead of that England vs. Wales encounter, Brown had claimed in his Daily Mail column that Wales ‘don’t have a single player who would get into the England XV right now’. Jones was asked about that Brown piece and went off on his former player:
“I don’t look at it that way. These ex-players, they become so clever when they start talking in the media and they haven’t answered everything. I think that’s quite disrespectful… I wouldn’t engage in that conversation.”
It would be interesting, then, to hear Jones’ take on the comments of Heaslip and Ferris, in particular, on how he is trying to craft a winning side for the 2023 World Cup.
Jamie Heaslip believes England are “rudderless”
England went 17-0 against Wales, following four Marcus Smith penalties and an Alex Dombrandt try. Wales then answered back with two tries of their own, only to lose out when Smith landed another two kicks.
Jamie Heaslip feels Smith and Dombrandt – England’s two Harlequins starters – are the best thing about the current side, while fellow RTE pundit Ferris went further.
“Wales have done us a massive favour,” Heaslip declared. “They’ve exposed a lot of weaknesses in the English side.
“I can’t quite figure it out, it looks like they are trying to come away from a power game that has served them quite well. I don’t know if they have the skillset to develop [a new game-plan].
“We’ll have to ask Eddie that, and we’ll probably get, ‘It’s all good mate’, or something like that.
“I don’t think the players know the direction they are been given because they look a little bit rudderless on that field…. Players like Dombrandt stood out and Marcus Smith showed he’s up to that level, but Ireland will look at that and go, ‘Let’s just mark the life out of him, they’ll give us space on the edges’.”
Warming to Heaslip’s topic, Ferris said England’s lineout, maul and attack was lacking.
“Take Marcus Smith out of it, everybody else was pretty average,” he said. “I’ve had texts from English friends saying, ‘You boys are going to give us a pasting’… I’m hoping that England turn up, because if they play like that, Ireland will win. Simple.”
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