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Eddie Jones compares England newcomer Jack Willis to 63-cap ex-Wallabies forward
Eddie Jones has compared England newcomer Jack Willis to one of the former Australia players he had at his disposal when his Wallabies were defeated by Martin Johnson and co in the 2003 World Cup final. Current England boss Jones has opted to give Willis, the 23-year-old Premiership players’ player of the year, his Test level debut against Georgia in this Saturday’s Autumn Nations Cup opener at Twickenham.
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With Willis labelled the turnover king of the English league due to his ability to poach possession in the 2019/20 season, there has been a clamour to see him involved with England.
That will now happen and his inclusion has left Jones, who coached Australia nearly two decades ago, reminiscing how a 63-cap former Wallaby forward was a similar mould to newly capped Willis.
“He reminds me a bit of Matt Cockbain who played for the Wallabies during the most successful period around the early 2000s,” said Jones. “Not a great looking body, not a gym-created body but a workmanlike body that is all elbows and knees. Those sort of players are really useful.”
Describing Willis as ‘flippin’ tough’, Jones continued: “He just puts his head over the ball a lot. You have got to have plenty of courage to put your head over the ball when you consider you have got 130kg blokes ready to clean you out – and he does that consistently.
Here are your teams for Saturday's clash between @GeorgianRugby and @EnglandRugby ? pic.twitter.com/qAi3R81TiN
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 12, 2020
“The big thing for Jack will be learning discernment, to understand that at the international level he is probably not going to get the leniency he has had at club level in keeping his hands on the ball. It’s just that understanding that he can only have one go.
“You have got to be quick and if you don’t get it in first go then you have got to get your hands out. But he is a good learner. He has really impressed us with not only being flippin’ tough but also he is a good learner. He’s a good coachable boy.
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“In Australian slang, we’d call him a knockabout bloke. He just gets on with it. Nothing fazes him too much. He mixes readily with all the different players, listens well, takes praise well, takes criticism well, just gets on with it.
“We first selected him in 2018 because he was a good, tough player and we’re selecting him again because he is a good, tough player… what I know is that he is dedicated to being the best player that he can be.
“He has still got a fair bit of work to do. He is by far a long way away from being the finished product, which is exciting for us because there is so much more growth in him.”
"He's one of the few forwards in English rugby that is good at pick and go so he brings that to the game" ?https://t.co/YapKb0HXd7
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 12, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
Always reluctant to blame a coach when losses rack up, but Penney must go. The backline is dysfunctional and the coach must carry the can. No cohesion, no idea and in many cases, minimal skill. The trains out of Roma St depart faster than the ball from Crusaders’ set pieces. Wouldn’t be surprised if the forwards went on strike.
1 Go to commentsAdding to earlier comment. Cullen Grace has been playing great at no6. Lio-Willie , who was on fire a few weeks ago, had a bad game. I think Cullen should have been moved to 8 earlier, Dominic Gardiner on earlier. Feel for Quinten Strange , put in a big shift .
4 Go to commentsWe dominated the scrums Ben Curry was all over pitch again .Surely James Harper got to be one of best English tightheads
1 Go to commentsRoos is a better option at 6 than 8 for the boks. Needs to work on his windgat though.
1 Go to commentsThe Sharks’ 2nd team maybe?
1 Go to comments‘radical’
1 Go to commentsCome back to Christchurch Robbie, please!
1 Go to commentsI think there is zero chance Sam Cane will be selected for another Test. There is simply no point except sentimentality. Razor is not sentimental- ask Wyatt Crocket. Razor is a ruthless selector
4 Go to comments> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
4 Go to commentswhat’s happening to Ian Peel?
1 Go to commentsAs a Crusaders fan , so disappointed , again.But I think Fergus Burke was all class for the Crusaders in his first game since October last year. Fletcher Newell , was so good at prop. Johnny McNicoll has been gold since returning from Wales. Noah Hotham brilliant , in a coming of age second season for the Crusaders.Jone Rova did really well at centre. The end of the game was tough.Sevu Reece , what a game/season in tough times.
4 Go to commentsFellas a balloon
3 Go to commentsBlues B team on display and made no race of it. By far the best team in SR with the Hurricanes barely getting past the winning post. Up the Blues 💙
7 Go to commentsWould be amazing to have Servette Genève reaching this level
3 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can't buy a win this season. Surely Penney's contract won't be renewed. There's still enough talent in the squad that they oughta be winning more.
1 Go to commentsABs captain for 23 seasons. Decent record. Surely nobody will surpass it. Legend. But alas a typo…
4 Go to commentsJust FYI Rugbypass, I for one am tired of your clickbait titles and thumbnails and will be clicking them no longer. Good day.
1 Go to commentsI think Farrell despite all of the stick he gets in the media is still one of if not the best fly half in the world. He is literally the full package. He can kick one of the best in the world, probably has the best defensive game of a fly half in the world and if he wants to he can run, take contact and find an offload to keep the pace of the attack. I dont know why he isnt spoken more about still being one of the best in the world with the likes of dupont. Farrell is the ultimate captain and team leader and is experienced- he has been in nearly any situation you can think of. I still believe due to these reasons that he is England’s best ever player and is still one of the best players in the world.
48 Go to commentsBlues are dominating up front and that’s been a long time coming. They have won the up front confrontation which is where canes, hilanders and act brumbies are also strong.
7 Go to commentsJust watched brumbies v safas game sadly not a show in he’ll thryr anywhere near quarters or semi contention. Admittedly some issues around new comers bot what stands out for me is coaching management, poor game planning and accuracy.
5 Go to comments