England's path towards lifting a second piece of silverware of the autumn has been simplified by the internal politics that mean France must field a shadow team at Twickenham on Sunday.
The Autumn Nations Cup final has been devalued by the constraints placed on Les Bleus head coach Fabien Galthie, who has named a 31-man training squad containing only two players with caps totals in double figures in Brice Dulin and Uini Atonio.
An agreement struck in response to the threat of legal action from France's Top 14 clubs due to the imposition of an extended international window means Galthie is only able to pick each player a maximum of three times across the six matches.
Overall the Autumn Nations Cup has produced few highlights as a result of the malaise affecting the game.
"I was watching the Mitre Ten Cup final on Saturday morning and I think I saw about eight consecutive box kicks which you never used to see in New Zealand rugby," Jones said.
"It just indicates how hard it is break down defences now. We have got 15 incredibly athletic players who are all trained to be bigger, faster and stronger and the field has not changed size.
"When I played rugby 30 years ago only seven people defended the field because you had eight people the ruck.
"Now we have got 15 players able to defend the field, it is just getting harder and harder to break them down.
"Defences are coming off the line harder so you have got to attack rush defence, which is a new set of skills that are players are slowly developing. We still have a long way to go which is good for us."
