Jones slams 'arrogant' England
Japan coach Eddie Jones believes that the arrogance shown by England centre Manu Tuilagi in scoring against the All Blacks should be cause for concern.
The former Wallabies boss was not impressed with the way the explosive Tuilagi casually strolled over the line to dot down against the world champions, and explained that allowing a culture like that to creep in could have negative consequences.
The victory over the All Blacks has been a massive boost for England who are hosting the next World Cup in 2015, but Jones warned that as an inexperienced side they still have a lot of developing to do, and they cannot afford to let a lack of discipline hold them back.
He told the Daily Star: “England are still very young. If they can keep it together and go on and pick up 600-odd caps then they could potentially have a very good team.
“But there were already signs of arrogance at the weekend with their centre [Tuilagi] walking over the line.
“That’s disrespectful to the world champions – and if they don’t control that kind of thing they will not go forward as a team
“You don’t want to see that sort of thing creep into the game because it’s not good for rugby.
“It doesn’t wind up other teams but the game of rugby is about respect – and that’s one thing we simply must keep in the game," he added.
Jones pointed out that the All Blacks would not put up with Tuilagi's showboating, although they have dominated world rugby for an extended period.
“New Zealand have scored numerous points against numerous teams and you never see any of their players do that.
“They run hard and try to get under the posts to make the kick as easy as possible.
“So why didn’t the England boy do that? That’s what the game is about. It’s very important to keep a tight lid on that kind of attitude.
“The only guy I really know in the England management is Andy Farrell and I know he certainly will not tolerate that sort of thing. He’ll be disappointed by what Tuilagi did,” he said.
Jones went on to dismiss the significance of England's victory over the All Blacks, pointing to the world champions' far superior win ratio.
“It’s only one game. The pressure was off and they played without fear.
“They were not expected to beat the world champions.They have won one Test against a top country. How many times have they beaten New Zealand in the last nine years?
“The secret of a very good team is consistency and New Zealand have won 88 per cent of their Tests. England have not done that since 2003 when they had a very good team.
“The big thing now will be the next game and if, when they are expected to win, they can play like that again. That’s the test.
“They have a young team with around 250 caps. It’s all about maturing and they need to get another 300 caps or so of experience, prior to the World Cup coming around.
“World Cup winners have around 600 caps and there’s a reason for that,” he said.
