England's win felt like a defeat, says Jones

England head coach Eddie Jones says his team is eager to put in an improved performance against Wales on Saturday. Photo: Henry Browne/Reuters

England head coach Eddie Jones says his team is eager to put in an improved performance against Wales on Saturday. Photo: Henry Browne/Reuters

Published Feb 7, 2017

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LONDON - Eddie Jones insists England's victory over France feels like a defeat for which his RBS 6 Nations champions must atone against Wales in Cardiff.

Jones spent a sleepless Saturday night reflecting on the 19-16 win at Twickenham that was the worst performance of his 14-Test reign, admitting he had been at fault due to his failure to prepare the team properly.

The Grand Slam remains intact and a new national record of 15 successive victories has been established, but two days later Jones was still looking inwards for explanations as to why England were unable to deliver on his promise to set the tournament ablaze with courageous rugby.

"I feel like we lost. We wanted to go out there and set the benchmark for the Six Nations and we didn't and we're disappointed by that," Jones said.

"We want to go out this week and redeem ourselves. And that's a good feeling. I didn't sleep on Saturday night, I know that, so the dog was unhappy and the wife was unhappy.

"I'm just disappointed by the way I coached the team and I didn't sleep because I was thinking about what we could have done better. I've found that after those sorts of nights you're at your most lucid, your thinking is pretty clear, as funny as it seems. You wake up in the morning and you've got the solutions there.

"When I look back, we made some mistakes. The main mistake we made was that we added some things to our preparation which is important, but sometimes when you add things it takes away focus.

"Those things we have added are going to be beneficial for us further down the track. We're experiencing some short-term pain because we're probably not doing enough of the important things - we're doing things which are setting things in stone for the future. But this week we will be a bit more focused - we will pare things down."

Jones has highlighted a poor record upon previous trips across the Severn Bridge, viewing the statistic of 21 wins from 61 visits dating back to 1882 as an anomaly.

England traditionally face a hostile atmosphere at the Principality Stadium - on their last visit they were embroiled in a pre-match tunnel stand-off with officials - and Jones hopes Saturday is no different.

"I'd be disappointed if it wasn't like that," he said. "You go to certain countries in the world and you expect that.

"You get that in Wales and you get it in South Africa, particularly when you are on the veldt. That's part of the build-up to the game.

"To me that is one of the great challenges of Test rugby - to go to those places and play in those areas.

"We want that sort of attitude that it doesn't matter what happens. If they start throwing daffodils during the warm-up or make us stand out there for 15 minutes then we can cope with all that."

As head coach of the opposition, Jones will determine whether the stadium roof is open or closed, but he is adamant that it is an irrelevance to his team.

"Maybe it will be oscillating - we'll catch it at the right time. I have no idea, I don't worry about it," he said.

"All we are worried about is playing well. It can be open or closed. We don't care. If we have a say in it, we'll make a decision at the appropriate time."

The Independent

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