SM
Man Utd vs. PAOK: 3 hrs 46 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
Rugby World Cup | Semi-Finals
Oct 26, 2019 at 9am UK
 
England
19-7
New Zealand
Tuilagi (2')
FT
Savea (57')

Eddie Jones: 'No pressure on England ahead of New Zealand clash'

:Headline: Eddie Jones: 'No pressure on England ahead of New Zealand clash': ID:375827: from db_amp
England go into Saturday's semi-final as significant underdogs.

Eddie Jones has sought to expose a chink in New Zealand's armour by declaring all the pressure is on the All Blacks entering Saturday's World Cup semi-final.

England approach a seismic collision at International Stadium Yokohama as significant underdogs but Jones believes they can play without the burden of vast expectation shouldered by their rivals.

The All Blacks are the reigning world champions and are determined to lift the Webb Ellis Trophy for a third successive time, placing them on a pedestal that Jones believes could crumble.

"New Zealand talk about walking towards pressure, well this week the pressure is going to be chasing them down the street. That's the reality of it, that's how we're approaching it," he said.

"We don't have any pressure. Put up your hand if you think we can win (no one puts their hand up). There you go, so no one. No one thinks we can win.

"So there's no pressure on us, we've just got to have a great week, enjoy it, relax. Train hard and enjoy this great opportunity we've got, whereas they've got to be thinking about how they're looking for their third World Cup.

"I don't think they are vulnerable but pressure is a real thing. The busiest bloke in Tokyo this week will be Gilbert Enoke, their mental skills coach.

"They have to deal with all this pressure of winning the World Cup three times and it is potentially the last game for their greatest coach and their greatest captain and they will be thinking about those things.

"Those thoughts go through your head. It is always harder to defend a World Cup and they will be thinking about that and therefore there is pressure.

"We've got nothing to lose, that's the exciting thing for us. We can just go out there and play our game. If we're good enough we'll win, if we're not good enough we've done our best.

"Seventeen of our players went on the Lions tour to New Zealand. They went down there, they played in their back yard.

"They know they're human. They bleed, they drop balls, they miss tackles like every other player. It's our job to take the time and space away so that we put them under pressure."

Swelling the support for New Zealand is the Japanese population, 60million of whom watched the hosts overcome Scotland to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in the nation's history.

Once Japan lost to South Africa on Sunday, Jones knew they would always throw their weight behind the world champions even though he successfully coached the Brave Blossoms at England 2015.

"There are 120million Japanese people out there whose second team are the All Blacks," he said.

Jones expects Japanese fans to throw their weight behind the All Blacks (Christophe Ena/AP/PA)

"I've seen all the All Black jerseys around, I even have to tell my wife to stop barracking for them!

"The Samurais are mystique characters in Japanese history and it's the same for the All Blacks. Japanese love the haka and all that goes around that, so that's their second team."

Jones was speaking on the day Emperor Naruhito formally ascended to Japan's throne at the imperial palace in Tokyo.

When asked about the occasion, England's head coach said: "It's a change in history isn't it?

Eddie Jones coached Japan in the 2015 World Cup (Gareth Fuller/PA)

"It's a change in the history of Japan, now we are going to have a change in the history of the World Cup. It's nice symmetry, and I do believe in omens.

"We've prepared for this game for two-and-a-half years. I can remember being in Kyoto for the draw in 2017 and quickly you could do the mathematics – even an Australian could do the mathematics – that we were going to play New Zealand in a semi-final.

"Progressively we've built a game that we think we can take New Zealand with and we've done that over the last two-and-a-half years. We're just excited by the possibility."

amp_article__375827 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2019-10-22 10:15:24:
html db last update - 2019-10-22 10:15:24 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Click here for more stories about Eddie Jones

Click here for more stories about England

Share this article now:
Read more about Eddie Jones Rugby Union
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .