England’s head coach animates his art of distraction with comic jibes to blur fantasy and reality – and boost his team’s self-beliefIn Disneyland, where England are staying for this semi‑final week, they specialise in blurring the lines between fantasy and reality. Perhaps that is why Eddie Jones has based his squad in a hotel full of people dressed up as Mickey Mouse wannabes. If you are looking to dream big, this is not a bad place to start. Related: England’s training session spied on from a nearby apartment, says Eddie Jones Related: Hansen and Jones show respect – and confidence they can overcome | Gerard Meagher Continue reading...
New Zealand will have to be patient and not force things, waiting for the World Cup semi-final to become unstructuredIf there is one thing England must do if they are going to beat New Zealand and reach the World Cup final it is to deny them quick ball. Ireland were not able to do that in the first half and New Zealand had a field day. The game was in effect over by half-time because the All Blacks bossed the breakdown.I have 100% belief that England are capable of that. It is not entirely reliant on Tom Curry and Sam Underhill but judging by their performances against Australia they are more than able to deny New Zealand the kind of...
Youthful exuberance was at the heart of a new-look New Zealand’s stunning quarter-final win over their recent nemesesSympathy is rarely felt for a rival rugby nation yet it was impossible to suppress prangs of exactly that emotion for Ireland. The cruel, crushing nature of this seventh World Cup quarter-final exit has never been so severely inflicted. As the Ireland coach, Joe Schmidt, exclaimed, the scars of this defeat will remain for some time. There could be no more brutal way to sign off his tenure.While Ireland knew the All Blacks would respond after two defeats in their last three meetings, they were powerless to stop it. Four years ago it was a similar theme. The All Blacks arrived at the...
England sticking to strengths against Australia; Ireland need to find old form to beat New Zealand; Wales must stop France momentum; South Africa could end Japan’s adventureEddie Jones has picked a team with England’s Six Nations win in Dublin in mind. If Jones has a blueprint for precisely how he wants his team to play, that is the closest they have come to it since he took charge. Related: Ben Youngs urges England to attack from the start against Australia Related: Wales boosted by return of big guns for quarter-final clash with France Continue reading...
England, Ireland and Wales are among the throng pushing to challenge New Zealand as the World Cup enters crunch timeNormal service has been resumed. After the surreal scenes of the All Blacks not being No 1 (Wales were, then Ireland!) they enter the quarter‑finals back at the top of the rankings, rated by the bookies as twice as likely to win the tournament as the second favourites. Don’t be so sure. It goes without saying they remain the best when on form, but that cancelled game might well be more of a hindrance to them than anyone, given that their last meaningful fixture will have been four weeks before their quarter‑final against Ireland. At least Italy would have been semi-meaningful....