Scrum holds key to Wallaby win
The 55-year-old Australian briefly put aside his current duties as Japan coach to joust with old sparring partner Clive Woodward, who inflicted the most painful defeat of his career on him, when they were at the helm of the England and Australia teams, respectively.
Jonny Wilkinson's dropped goal in the dying seconds of extra-time of the 2003 World Cup final in Sydney, dashed the hopes of the host nation and saw the trophy travel to the Northern Hemisphere for the one and only time in its history.
However, Jones thinks the Wallabies can return the favour on the hallowed turf of Twickenham and consign England to the ignominy of being the first host nation to bow out at the pool stage.
That outcome would be dependent on the battered, bruised but heroic Welsh – who edged England 28-25 at Twickenham last Saturday – beating Fiji on Thursday.
The Wallaby scrum, more specifically the tight five, has long been seen as the Achilles heel of the team – at times not able to provide enough ball to unleash one of the most exciting and potent backlines in the world.
"It will be some game but if the Australian scrum holds up, and the actual number of scrums in a game is a big factor here, I'm tipping Australia," Jones said in a lively question-and-answer session with Woodward.
"If they win their share of ball, they have just a bit too much round the park and I'd back whoever wins the pool to get all the way through to the final," Jones said.
Jones, whose Brave Blossoms caused the greatest upset in World Cup history with a 34-32 victory over South Africa in their opening pool game, said current Wallabies coach Michael Cheika had revived the team since he took over prior to the 2014 Northern Hemisphere tour.
"I'm a fan," said Jones, who quipped after the South Africa victory that if Japan made the quarterfinals, he would like to retire and sit in a comfortable studio like TV pundit Woodward.
"He likes big aggressive forwards and ball-carriers and he gives his backs a bit of latitude. Robbie Deans before him [Ewen McKenzie held the post in between them before stepping down in October 2014] was a great technical coach but I think Australia lacked a bit of identity.
"Australia sport is about being a bit brash and arrogant, doing things differently and Cheika understands all that.
"Getting Gits [Matt Giteau] and the others back from Europe was smart," added Jones, referring to how Cheika had persuaded his bosses to change their minds over not selecting foreign-based players, something that England by contrast refused to make a U-turn on.
Jones, whose side play Samoa in another crucial game on Saturday, where defeat would probably dash Japanese hopes of making history and reaching the last eight for the first time, does not believe England coach Stuart Lancaster has a firm game plan despite having had more than three years to define it.
"I don't know him, but from the outside, he has done a good job in getting the basics right but his next task is whether he can find the best rugby style for his players. To me he doesn't look 100 percent sure of exactly how he wants England to play – you can see that from his different selections," Jones stated.
Woodward for his part had to have the last word.
"An England drop goal in the last minute of the game will do us just fine," Woodward said.
AFP
