Jones's sights set on whitewash

Sat, Jun 18, 2016, 2:57 PM
Beth Newman
by Beth Newman
Jones looking for killer blow. Photo: Getty Images
Jones looking for killer blow. Photo: Getty Images

England coach Eddie Jones has already set his sights on a series whitewash, after taking an unassailable 2-0 advantage over the Wallabies on Saturday night.

Jones has spoken of his desire to take a series clean sweep and post-match said it was on his mind.

“We’re very pleased with the victory,” he said.

“Australia came out with different tactics, surprise, surprise, and there was a lot of play off the ball which we had to cope with, coped with that pretty well. 

“We’re looking forward to winning the series 3-0. We came here to win the series 3-0 and that’s what we’re going to do next.”

England will become the world number two side on Saturday night but Jones said runner-up status was not enough.

"We want to be the best team in the world and we want to win the series 3-0," he said.

"If the All Blacks were in this situation now, what would they be thinking?

“They beat Wales today, didn’t they? They’d be thinking 3-0.

“We want to be the best team in the world, we want to think 3-0. 

“We know Australia will come back, they’re a well-coached driven team so we’re anticipating quite a feisty encounter in Sydney.”

Jones flagged the possibility of a number of changes for his team ahead of next weekend’s final Test, with plenty of bruised bodies coming out of what was a brutal game.

Chris Robshaw has come a long way since the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Photo: Getty ImagesHe was full of praise for man of the match Chris Robshaw, who has completed a transformation in rebounding from the lost captaincy.

“He does all the unseen stuff in the game, he keeps driving forward, cleans out game after game,” he said.

“It was difficult when he lost the captaincy but he’s bounced back very well. We’re all delighted for him tonight.”

The England mentor will be returning to a familiar place when the series hits Sydney this week, training at the Randwick hooker’s former home ground at Coogee Oval.

Jones said it was a week to which he was particularly looking forward, after a “funny” week in Melbourne.

“I always find rugby in Melbourne a bit funny,” he said.

“The Test was a great experience. It was a good atmosphere so you’d like to hope rugby keeps developing in Melbourne but getting back to Sydney would be nice.”

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