Eddie Jones has started his first week as a grand slam winning coach by visiting Leicester, focusing on the future rather than dwelling on England's first Six Nations clean sweep in 13 years. The head coach plans to visit Bath, Saracens, and Northampton in the coming days, with the remaining Premiership clubs to follow over the next fortnight, as part of his drive to take England to the top of the world rankings before the 2019 World Cup.
With a new agreement between the 12 Premiership clubs and the Rugby Football Union close to being signed, Jones intends to work closely with directors of rugby on skills and conditioning programmes for his squad players and those on the cusp of international selection. 'I am looking ahead rather than at what has happened,' said Jones. 'It is about working with the Premiership to help make the players better. Each one had an individual plan governing skills, strength and conditioning, and we want to make sure the clubs agree with it.'
Jones will take a squad of 32 or 33 players on the three-Test tour to Australia in June, preceded by a Twickenham Test against Wales. He will watch the final five rounds of the Premiership to assess potential new faces, including Exeter back Henry Slade. 'We are interested in Slade. He gives us an option at 10, 12 and 13,' Jones said. 'The midfield is interesting because we have so many options there.'
The head coach emphasised that all players must continue to improve, citing the All Blacks as the benchmark. 'The reason the All Blacks have set the benchmark for the last eight years is because their players keep improving no matter how experienced they are,' he said. 'The grand slam has to be a start for us.'
Jones is seeking a backs coach on a casual basis for the Australia tour and a permanent scrum coach, ruling out Marc Dal Maso due to language barriers. He will also discuss Jonny Wilkinson's role after the former fly-half helped with kickers during the Six Nations. 'Jonny has done a great job. I do not see his role extending beyond kicking because he is a specialist in that area, but he brings other things as well,' Jones added.
