Eddie says....don't copy the All Blacks

England intend to develop a playing style that is very different to that of the All Blacks, and the Springboks should too, writes JON CARDINELLI. Eddie Jones has made some big statements over the years. The former Australia coach once said that the rest of the world would be in trouble if South Africa ever got its house in order. Jones believed that South Africa possessed some of the most powerful and skilled players on the planet. He said that the Boks would be foolish to move away from their traditional strengths. And yet, that is what many people are calling for in the wake of the Boks' two record defeats to the All Blacks. The prevailing feeling in South Africa is that the Boks will need to adopt the All Blacks' playing style if they intend to move forward and eventually reclaim the No 1 world ranking. It's an opinion that's shared in many other rugby nations. The All Blacks have won every trophy on offer over the past 12 months. If they beat Australia in Auckland on 22 October, they will break the tier-one Test record for the most consecutive victories. Jones, however, is not convinced that this is the best course of action. The England coach told the Sunday Times that his side would not follow New Zealand's lead. 'The thing that really annoys me about rugby at the moment, and I've got to say it, is that everyone tries to copy New Zealand,' Jones said. 'Why? Come up with your own game. 'Everything we are doing now is about coming up with a game to beat New Zealand and to make them uncomfortable. You can and hopefully will see that by 2018.' England will host the Boks at Twickenham on 12 November. While the Boks have not lost to England since 2006, current form sees England installed as favourites to win the upcoming clash in London. Jones's England have won nine Tests in a row. The Boks have lost five of their last nine games. The Boks have looked to be a team without a clear plan or identity in 2016. Coach Allister Coetzee has pointed a finger at the backward South Africa system, which places the interests of the franchises above those of the national team. Coetzee believes that if all the coaches in South Africa are on the same page, and if certain structures are put in place to manage top players correctly, the Boks will become a world force once more. There is value in following New Zealand's lead with regard to their structures. The New Zealand Rugby Union contracts the players at franchise level, and all the franchises are encouraged to develop certain skills. By the time these players get to Test level, they have all the tools needed to thrive in an All Blacks set-up. But should the Boks, who boast different traditional strengths that were once the envy of teams around the world, be looking to copy the playing style of the Kiwis? Surely not. As Jones has said of England, every team needs to go its own way. South African rugby needs to look at why teams in this country are no longer dominating the tackle. The Bok coaches and players are in denial if they believe that the past nine performances have not detracted from a once proud aura. The players aren't fit enough. The standard of defence and tactical kicking is not good enough, even at Super Rugby level. The Boks cannot expect to attack effectively and score tries if they are losing the collisions as well as the territorial battle. In 2007, the Boks won the World Cup by favouring an approach that was built on uncompromising physicality. Their approach was much the same when they beat the British & Irish Lions and won the 2009 Tri-Nations. Back then, the Boks and South African rugby still had an identity. The Boks were a team to be feared. If only they had built on those strengths, maintaining their traditional physicality while still striving to evolve their attack. In 2016, the Boks have moved away from their traditional strengths, and have got it horribly wrong. The majority of the South African sides failed in the 2016 Super Rugby competition because they neglected areas liked defence and tactical kicking. The Lions were the exception, but then one has to look at some of the reasons for their relative success. While Johan Ackermann's side impressed with ball in hand and scored some breathtaking tries, not enough was made of the hard work they did at the set pieces and collisions. Of course, there were points in the tournament when the Lions' defence wasn't up to standard and their tactical kicking was exposed – the final against the Hurricanes for one. The Lions will need to address that in the pre-season if they hope to go one step further in 2017.

 Mozart
This is another sermon in unrealities.   Let me explain - prior to the 1980's there was no use of the "Traditional SA Rugby" term - it developed after the Bulls successes in the CC which started to find a sob during a long period of backline performance deterioration.
Physical development on sport professional basis is a highly specialized science these days and there are no reason why SA forwards would be able to  physically dominate other top teams.    Matter of fact it really is BS to even state otherwise.

 
    
    
    

 Pretty much Brycy ,the wee ratface is only spouting his nonsense because the ABs arent playing the Poms till 2018 !Who the fark would would enjoy the pommy style of play ? Even the saffas are sick of endless kicks at goal .

Actually that is the only area we still have superior talent....big athletic men. Let me put it this way Etzebeth is more competive with Jaws Rettallik than Hogie is competitive with Naholo.

 Those massive meatgrinder Bok packs were a fearsome sight ,it was strange to see a Bok pack concede a try from a NZ rolling maul .I used to to be glad I never had to pack down against the likes of Os du Rondt and co !

 Jones lives off professional rugby. He states what is required to save his professional activity.

A few of the fallacies he stated.


Jones states he wont copy the ABs and come with a different style of game.

Of course he will. Playing like the ABs requires to have AB players. AB players are the result of a long training process (starting in the teens) to groom players into ABs.
Jones cant play like ABS as England does not have AB players.

Jones, with no surprise, will do as every coach does, play the type of game his players can play. This excludes the AB style.

John states that the objective is to win one match.

Of course this will happen. NZ rugby is not US basketball. US basketball can afford hurting some of his business international partners' feelings as the US basket money is made domestically.
NZ cant. NZ must drop games now and then in order to keep the partners in the race.

Many other fallacies, just a last one: the style of play.

There is no AB style in the way Jones means it.

NZ took advantage of professionalism to experiment new ways. They tried many things, assessed what they could make work, what they could not make work. NZ approach to rugby has fundamentally  changed.
In the doing, they have not clung to things that were deemed as NZ specific forces, they have been crafting a style they will keep changing as things go.

Jones stated something different: because certain things worked in the non professional era, people must cling to them and try to make them work in the professional era.

Like stating that horse calvary charges were effective, so no matter what, you must cling to them, never drop them and try on improving them.

 ,it was strange to see a Bok pack concede a try from a NZ rolling maul

No. The game has grown more dynamic , it is no longer about strength but power. SA did not manage to stall the game to install strength contests.
As they failed to do that, one consequence was to lose on rolling mauls.

  prior to the 1980's there was no use of the "Traditional SA Rugby" term


Rugby is not a tradition in SA. It is an activity imported by foreigners that has not yet grown into a tradition.

Now, there has been a typical SA way of approaching  and playing rugby. There is no denying of it.

And this way has been turned obsolete by the work NZ has accomplished over the last two decades.

Yeah this guy is a hypocrite; he's just talking sh* it because he has 2 years to study the All Blacks...if it was next month the guy would be shaking right now!

 Not sure that I agree with the rather arrogant attitudes expressed here. I have always had two teams. The boks and anyone who plays against the Poms. They will beat th e affirmatives this year an the 10 year winning streak will end. Next year and as they build for Japan England will be right up there with the ABs. England have done what I always feared... gone oversee for a coach. He is not everyone's cup of tea but who cares, he is and will deliver the only thing that counts, results. If you think that their brand is based around a 10 man style you are seriously wrong.

The guy would be shaking roght now? Any coach who can steer Japan to a victory over the Boks is not going to be daunted by helping the Poms take on NZ. Eddie is a great coach who helped us win the WC and has been a good friend to South African rugby. And on this site he is a fool? Funny stuff.

 Hi cloudy ! Plenty of Aussies are less than impressed with the "legacy " he gifted them ,many think his influence has had a rather baleful effect to this day upon the Wallabies.

I nener liked the guy (but good coach, no doubt about it)
What annoys me is that he can say literally whatever the hell he wants about New Zeland, because he has 2 years in front of him to brag until he finally meets New Zealand. All of this while making snarky comments about the All Backs once a month...just to keep things interesting.

The truth is, he's jealous. And who wouldn't be, as a coach.
And if in two years time, he doesn't beat the All Blacks, he's a retaa rd. He has the chance that every national team would want.

 Well Cloudy, Jones's mind games shattered Cheika.

 oh quack cry me a river I bet the AB prefer to play OZ next rather than the poms.Coaches could and should be jealous but only because of the set up and structure in NZ that is focused on the ABs. This is where every other country is falling short. The England is on the right road. SA will never recover no matter how much you guys bitch about old blood vs young blood. 

What can I say...
GO ALL BLACKS!

Like Bok BF I have my team and anyone who plays the poms .I can hear their heads embiggening from here !EJ may well have buggered off in 2 years when someone waves a wad of notes in his direction .Given the mindset of the ABs I'm certain they would love to play the poms this year .Not as if the poms hold any fears for them .

 Eddie Jones is a crafty bugger and he doesn't want the other international teams around the world getting better - he just wants England to get better.

Not even. That is giving way too much depth to Jones' statements.

England tried to play fluid rugby. They failed. Jones is paid lavishly, one justification is that he must promote the english team. He must get people on their seat.

He wont manage to get that by playing winner rugby. He does not have the players for that.

He promises instead that he is on a big thing, something different that one day will win one match against the ABs.

He sought attention, he wants the spotlights turned on the english squad for the duration of his spell as head coach.

Viewers will come to see the english squad to see something different, a work in progress that is not expected to deliver right away. People are going to talk the differences, assess the potential of the system etc

Jones know he cant influence other selections (he has no results)

He is touting for the english squad. It does not go farther.

'Embiggening'....nice one WD.

What a brainless statement, or bloody ridiculous. Obviously NO TEAM must ever copy or model themselves on another.

Imagine telling Joe Frazier to fight like Ali.

Cloudy said and I believe she's right:
"What Eddie says is not necessarily what he believes and I think you have to take his comments with a grain of salt".

It's really that simple...just play the game well with balance, set piece. skills and intelligent moves and as it lies{ as you find it or as it developes} (as they say in golf) and practice with less error and the results will come...Eddie Jones knows and does this...why use idle nonsense words. There's no magic...Jones is a good coach...a great mentor and motivator...we wins belief because he's very crafty and clever and gives off confidence...would have been perfect for SA mindset...this is a rare gift...Johan Ackerman has it too and more...he conjures more integrity and respect, so it appears.

AB's incidentally are far better than the Poms...whitewashing the worst Wallaby side for a very long timer, in Oz is no big deal...the Poms will whip SA but that's no big deal....I suspect Wales,Scotland and maybe Samoa, Tonga and Georgia could take us on their day.

We have the solution in Ackerman staring us in the face. But that's not all...if by a miracle Ackerman is eventually chosen...the impatient SA fans and press  must leave him alone and shut up...give him time...it takes a lot of time to build especially now being in such a mess.