Eddie Jones tells England to treat Saturday’s third Test against Australia as a World Cup final
Red Rose hit the beach with the series Down Under already in the bag but boss wants whitewash
ENGLAND are under orders to treat Saturday’s final Test like a World Cup final.
Eddie Jones’ side hit the beach yesterday with the three-Test series against Australia already in the bag.
But boss Jones will attack Saturday’s finale in Sydney with an eye on 2019.
He said: “For us this Third Test is something like a World Cup final.
“To win a World Cup you have to win three big games in a row. It’s a great dress rehearsal for us.”
Jones is already plotting England’s route to the 2019 World Cup and challenging New Zealand as No 1 in the world.
England are not due to face the All Blacks until 2018 but Jones said: “New Zealand have been up there all the time and it’s about time someone put a real challenge on them — we are going to be the side that do that.
“We have massive areas we need to improve — the consistency of our lineout, the breakdown and we need to develop our attack.
“We can do that over the next three years to take us on the road we want to go.”
England’s heroes were in Jones’ old stomping ground at Coogee Beach as part of their recovery process and put in a light training session at the boss’ old club Randwick — where he used to play alongside Oz coach Michael Cheika.
Jones, 56, also recruited rugby league legend Andrew Johns to work with fly-halves Owen Farrell and George Ford on individual skills.
Jones said: “I have always admired Johns’ skills as a player. He has got a lot of knowledge, a lot he can teach people.
“We have been chatting for a while about the possibility of him coming in and doing a little bit of work.
“It is just slight detail, things that he is saying in a different voice and in a different way that stimulates learning.
“We have got two outstanding young No 10s in Owen Farrell and George Ford and we want them to keep learning.
“For those guys to have that lesson this afternoon is invaluable.”
Jones has already hinted at making changes for Saturday’s Test.
Winger Jack Nowell was cleared to train after suffering a mild concussion in last weekend’s 23-7 win in Melbourne.
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But Northampton back-row Teimana Harrison took over from James Haskell who is struggling with a foot injury.
Jones added: “We had a good recovery session — the boys enjoyed the warm Pacific Ocean and a bit of volleyball on the beach.
“It is more of a precaution with Haskell. He hasn’t trained much over the last couple of weeks but he has an amazing capacity to absorb pain.”
Skipper Dylan Hartley gave one of the England players a rocket after they were late for a meeting on Sunday.
Jones explained: “Dylan has been making sure the attitude is right.
“He had to pick out one player who was two minutes late for something. Those small things count the most.”
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