The most pertinent rugby quote of 2016, inevitably, came from Eddie Jones. “There’s only pressure when you don’t know what you’re doing,” murmured England’s head coach shortly before guiding his adopted country to their 13th Test victory of a perfect calendar year. As a short, sharp Twitter-friendly summation of how and why the Australian guru has turned English fortunes around, it was inch-perfect.
What would England’s national cricket and football teams do for a milligram of Jones’s self-assurance right now? Maybe the government should give him a call: who better to negotiate a workable Brexit deal from a standing start? It is easy enough, too, to imagine him discussing the art of influential leadership with the US president-elect. “Trumpy, mate, come over to Twickenham and I’ll show you how it’s done.” The tide of global history could be turned for ever.
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