SYDNEY, 22 September 2004 — Coach Eddie Jones expects England to revert to a confrontational forwards-dominated style under new coach Andy Robinson when the Wallabies tour Europe later this year. Jones yesterday announced an 28-man squad for the five-match November tour, including two international newcomers, and is anticipating a very different approach from Robinson, who has taken over the World Cup champions from Clive Woodward.
The Wallabies are looking to return to winning rugby after what Jones terms as Australia’s worst performance of the season in losing the Tri-Nations title to South Africa in a 23-19 loss to the Springboks in Durban last month.
The Australians take on Scotland twice, Six-Nations champions France and England over successive Saturdays, with another match squeezed in mid-week with Australia A taking on the French Barbarians in Paris. Jones, who often took pot-shots at English rugby when Woodward was in charge, said England would discard their ‘wind in the hair’ attacking style to employ a confrontational game under Robinson. “Looking ahead, we’ve got a good tour coming up. England will be a very different side under Andy Robinson,” Jones told a press conference here yesterday. “They’ll have a new captain for starters, they’ll have a new coach and I dare say they will have a new approach to the way they play the game.
“Robinson’s a confrontational sort of coach, Bath play a very confrontational-style of game under him, very strong in the forwards, so I think England will go back to that particular style and maybe go away from the ‘wind in the hair’ style they were playing over the last couple of seasons.”
Jones is also excited by the prospect of taking on Six-Nations champions France at the Stade de France on Nov. 13. “France have been everyone’s tip as the best side in the world over the last 24 months, they won the Six Nations quite convincingly, so they are going to be very tough opposition, so we’re looking forward to playing against those two Northern Hemisphere heavyweights.
