“You’ve seen better teams than us lose to the All Blacks and lose by 40 or 50 points. If you don’t stay in the fight, you might faint. players. I trust their decisions. I’m not on the pitch, I don’t have the chance to hang out with them”
By Michael Cantillon
Last Updated: 19/11/22 9:11pm
Eddie Jones says he trusts his England players’ decisions on the field, praising their spirit
Eddie Jones praised his England team’s spirit of “staying in the fight” against New Zealand, adding that he has faith in the players and decisions, including their decision to push the ball to the end and the level of play.
Beauden Barrett’s late yellow card proved crucial as England recovered from 25-6 to draw 25-25 with the All Blacks at Twickenham after three late tries.
Substitute Will Stuart (two) and full-back Freddie Steward each scored in the final eight minutes – the last of which came in the last minute – after Barrett was yellow-carded for failing to clear Marcus Smith’s approach.
Smith, who converted the last two tries, chose to throw the ball out after England tried to restart, despite facing 14 in the final game, as the All Blacks almost failed to win the test from 14 points ahead in the first half.
“I thought we played with a lot of spirit in the first half. New Zealand were very good in the first half, and I don’t remember New Zealand playing as well as they did in the first half,” Jones said.
England players celebrate after turning things around from 25-6 down to make it 25-25
“[They were] Aggressive, sharp around the block, attacking kick. We just had to be in there.
“We hung in there and settled in there, and at the beginning of the second half, we managed to get them back. And the first 20 minutes of the second half I thought we were the bigger team, but it happened. They didn’t convert any points.
“All of a sudden, somebody blows some magic dust and the passes start getting hit, the lines get a little sharper, and I thought our quarterbacks came in and really controlled the game we wanted to play. It happens sometimes.
“Mark [Vunipola] they came in and drove some really good lines in the middle of the pitch, which allowed us to attack a bit more straight out. So the game changed.
“It’s a very important game for us that we played with such spirit.
Freddie Steward scored one of three late tries for England as they came from 25-6 down to make it 25-25.
“It’s a good moment for the team, there’s a lot of guys out there who are playing their first Test against New Zealand, and sometimes it’s very difficult, because they follow you.
“You have to be able to participate in that baptism of fire, and sometimes you don’t.”
“For us, we’re building a team that can play in different ways. Being able to play a tight, attacking game is something we’ve been working on, just a little bit. [of the Test].
“The work of the 23-man team is very important to us. 23 wins the game.”
Substitute Will Stuart scored twice in the final eight minutes
When asked in detail about Smith and England’s decision to start the ball with a red watch, Jones said he supported his players’ decisions.
“It’s always up to the players. I trust their decisions,” he added.
“I’m not on the field, I don’t have access to them. So I just rely on their decisions.
Jones’ team elected to punt the ball on the last play, which he said was returning
“I thought in the second half we played really well. We’re disappointed that we didn’t win the game, but the game is the same, and with the energy they had in the first half, we could have fallen.
“You’ve seen better teams than us lose to the All Blacks and lose by 40 or 50.
“If you don’t stay in the fight, you can get shaken up. We stayed in the fight, and I think the leadership team was very good. Owen [Farrell] on his 100th cap he did a great job, and [Ellis] The gang is [Jack] Good.
Speaking about the late decision, captain Owen Farrell added: “We just wanted to see where we left off. We didn’t want to make a good decision, and I think that’s what happened.”
