Sporting perfection is uncommonly rare. Occasionally in tennis or golf someone such as Roger Federer or Tiger Woods will strike a ball so sweetly it feels as if a higher power is involved. In a team game such as rugby union, with so many different moving parts, it is even harder. For everything to click for 80 minutes is meant to be an impossible dream.
Eddie Jones has been wrestling with this inherent challenge for much of his career. Three years ago he decided to address the subject with his players, using gymnastics as a case study. “We spoke about Nadia Comaneci,” he revealed. “No one thinks you can play the perfect game of rugby. Well, no one thought you could get 10 out of 10 in gymnastics. Why not aspire to play the perfect game? Imagine a game where England goes out and from the first to the 80th minute they have total control. What a great dream to have.”
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