White is the new black – but Eddie Jones will never admit it

Eddie Jones wants England to be the All Blacks. He just doesn’t want you to think he may be emulating the New Zealanders’ recipe for success, writes Scotty Stevenson.

Following England’s stunning Six Nations victory in Cardiff on Saturday, Coach Eddie Jones has claimed his England side is still “seven percent behind the All Blacks” which is based either on some hitherto unknown rugby analysis metric, or simply on Eddie Jones’ penchant for nifty but rather meaningless catchphrases. Considering back in September he also said the All Blacks were only “three percent ahead of the chasing pack” one could reasonably assume it is the latter.

Three percent here, seven percent there. Either Eddie got a calculator for Christmas or his latest remarks are just another way to keep the All Blacks in the conversation ahead of that much anticipated showdown with England in – yawn – 2018. I am ninety-nine percent sure the rest of us just want that game to happen already.

Regardless of where Jones is plucking his percentages from (and we probably all have some ideas on that) what is obvious is that the techniques he has been using with his side mirror those the All Blacks have used for years. Not that he would come out and say that.

In a feature story by regular RugbyPass Podcast guest and ESPN Rugby Editor Tom Hamilton, Jones has credited a training technique known as ‘tactical periodization’ with England’s fast-rising fortunes. Jones says he discovered the technique through football (coaches such as that bastion of humility, Jose Mourinho, are proponents of the theory) but odds are he was actually inspired to research the formula through its implementation in rugby union by the All Blacks coaching staff – especially Wayne Smith.

Smith has long been the guru of the ‘click play’, or the transition offence as it is also known, and the All Blacks have long been devotees of just the kind of thinking Jones espoused this weekend. In fact, the training regime Jones spoke of in the article – not to mention some of the language used, including the term ‘finishers’ rather than ‘substitutions’ – could have been lifted in its entirety from the All Blacks playbook.

While Jones is open about ‘bridging the gap’ between England and the All Blacks, he has been extremely careful to give the impression the bridge will be built on arches of his own construction, even if the keystones have been already been placed by the team he is so desperate to defeat, and coaches he is so reluctant to credit.

There is good reason for that: Stuart Lancaster, Jones’ predecessor at the helm of the England side, was an unabashed fan of the All Blacks coaching methods and the New Zealand rugby system. Jones saw how Lancaster’s quest to emulate the New Zealanders unravelled under criticism in 2015, and he doesn’t want to make the same mistakes. Moreover, having questioned Lancaster’s approach, he can’t afford to.

In October 2016, Jones offered this thought to the Sunday Times: “The thing that really annoys me in rugby at the moment is that everyone tries to copy New Zealand. Why?” It was his way of saying England will do it their own (his) way, even if that way is the All Blacks way, deftly repackaged to suit a resurgent side high on self-worth and self-determination under a coach who allows both to flourish.

England deserve to be lauded for this run of wins under Jones. They deserve better than to be tagged ‘escape artists’ after taking their chance, and the win, in Cardiff. Jones has created depth and desire, and has also laid the foundations for a new-found belief, articulated beautifully by Dylan Hartley’ assertion after the Welsh test that even with five minutes remaining, and staring down a two-point deficit, this England side still thought they were going to win.

Yes, it’s all wonderful stuff. Problem is, it’s also the kind of stuff we’ve heard before – from that other team Jones wants to beat, the one he would in theory never dream of emulating. Even while in practice, he is doing precisely that.