FRANCE: RUGBY UNION: South Africa's Eddie Jones says the Springboks will be adaptable in the World Cup final against England

Record ID: 784675

  • Title: FRANCE: RUGBY UNION: South Africa's Eddie Jones says the Springboks will be adaptable in the World Cup final against England
  • Date: 17th October 2007
  • Summary: (BN10) PARIS, FRANCE (OCTOBER 16, 2007) (REUTERS) PAN FROM SIGNS IN HOTEL WINDOWS READING "GO SPRINGBOKS!" TO ENTRANCE OF HOTEL WHERE SOUTH AFRICA TEAM IS STAYING
  • Embargoed: 1st November 2007 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA55U478SU2FL44MONN6470U8PO
  • Story Text: Eddie Jones, an Australian who is the Springboks' specialist coach, told reporters in Paris on Tuesday (October 16) that his team will "play how we need to play" at the Stade de France on Saturday (October 20) (1900 GMT).
    South Africa dealt England a humiliating 36-0 defeat at the beginning of the tournament. The South African team has proved dominant while England turned their poor form around to beat Australia and France on their way to the final.
    Jones gave his analysis of England's changes. "They've become a lot more cohesive in the way they played. They are probably using their strengths a lot better than they were previously and certainly, they are doing the simple things well," he said.
    Jones also gave his assessment of Jonny Wilkinson, whose drop goals have been crucial in England's recent matches and won England the last World Cup title.
    "Defensively, he is still good but obviously, he is probably not as dominant a player as he was in 2003. But I think the thing about Jonny that he adds to the England squad is, he just gives them enormous confidence and you can see guys around him play better when he is out there because he has won a World Cup, he still kicks reasonably well, he still kicks a field goal here and there and he is tough. He is a tough player," said Jones.
    Commenting on South Africa's strategy for the final Jones spoke of the team's adaptability.
    "I think we will play how we need to play, I think that's the good thing about the South African side that we can either play a tight grounding game, if we need to kick for field position, we can. But if we need to shift the ball, we shift the ball if the opportunity arises. I think that's how you want rugby to be played," Jones said.
    Jones was asked if the South African strategy would simply be to stop Jonny Wilkinson.
    He replied: "It's not about shutting him down. He plays at the back end of what's going on in front of him and as World Cup finals are won up front, the game has almost gone back a couple of decades.
    "We are probably seeing rugby in the 90s now. It's about set pieces, about field position and then it's about scoring points once you get in the opposition half. So, Jonny does that on the back of what his forwards do. So it's not about closing Jonny down, it's about winning that ball up front and for us, neutralising their ball so it's a "slow" ball and conversely when we have got the ball, we want 'fast' ball and 'going forward' ball," Jones added.
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