As for the reference to the 'false' 9, that wasn't a new tactic either or even a new idea. It's really just a sweeper playing at the opposite end of the pitch with an attacking brief rather than a defensive brief.
Eddie Jones, the coach who claims to hate experiments, has raised the possibility of starting with nine forwards and six backs in England’s Autumn Nations Cup opener against Georgia.
The England head coach has frequently mentioned his ambition to introduce “hybrid” players who are equally comfortable playing in the backs and forwards. Exeter wing Jack Nowell and Bristol back row Ben Earl have been name-checked as possible candidates for that transition.
As fanciful as that might seem, Jones has previously put that theory into practice while in charge of Japan. For their match against the powerful Georgians before the 2015 World Cup, Jones started No 8 Hendrik Tui on the wing. Japan won 13-10 and clearly Jones has not forgotten its effectiveness. He also points to the example of Pep Guardiola whose introduction of a false nine at Barcelona overthrew the tactical orthodoxy in football.
“It worked brilliantly (for Japan), we won and the previous time we played them we got pumped,” Jones said. “It might be out again. We will wait and see. Maybe Ben Earl (could do it). There are a number of guys we are trying to make into hybrid players.
“We have got to look at how we keep improving the game. The tradition says that you have eight forwards and seven backs. That seems right and is probably right but there’s no reason why we can’t look at it. Barcelona beat Manchester United in the 2011 Champions League final and they played the false nine.
“There’s no reason why you can’t do that in rugby whether you play a false 10 or a false winger and create a different position. We are looking to do that. We know to become the team that we want to become we have got to keep improving and looking for an edge. These ideas are things we take seriously and to see how we can improve the side. Maybe the Georgia game is an opportunity to play a different way.”
Whether that is blue-sky thinking or mischief making remains to be seen. Changes are guaranteed for the Georgia match after wing Anthony Watson was ruled out with an ankle injury, while the experienced duo of Joe Marler and Elliot Daly have returned to the 36-man squad.
There is an understandable clamour for Jones to let loose some of his more inexperienced players such as uncapped Wasps flanker Jack Willis and centre Ollie Lawerence who could fill the power void left by the injured Manu Tuilagi. Georgia are in the midst of a massive transition since the World Cup and lost 48-7 to Scotland two weeks ago. While they would represent a softish introduction to Test rugby, Jones is determined to zig where others want him to zag.
“Being an old-school principal, kids started in year seven, they worked hard, they had to do a year 12 leaving exam,” Jones said. “If they did well at that, they got into university. If you get into university you study hard, you get your undergraduate, you go for a masters and maybe a PHD. Test match rugby is a PHD. Everyone has got to earn their spot. We're not giving out caps willy-nilly, that's not the way we do it.
“Ollie is good enough to be in the 23 – that is pretty good. We will see how he handles every exam. He has got a few more exams to do. Manu, at the last count I had, he was a 50-Test player who played exceptionally well in a World Cup. Ollie is a 0.25 Test player. Making that comparison is like comparing Don Bradman to Jimmy Anderson (in batting averages).”
Given that he handed four players – Lawrence, Ollie Thorley, Tom Dunn and Jonny Hill, who started – their debuts against Italy, Jones is hardly a reactionary barrier to progress. After all, he fast-tracked flanker Tom Curry into the team when he was still a teenager. But more than any coach who has been in Twickenham hotseat, Jones will not be swayed by who is flavour of the month among the wider rugby public.
“It is all about earning the opportunity,” Jones said. “We are a team that is about how hard you work to get the opportunity. If we think young players are working hard enough to get an opportunity then we will give it to them.
“How quickly they adapt to the training environment is the number one thing for us. Every time we train it’s a grading session. We want to grade the players from 1 to 36. See where they sit. Some people are growing and some people are shrinking. If someone grows to the extent that they are above an established player then we’ll select them.
“It’s just a matter of how quickly they can adapt. Some adapt very quickly and some not so quickly. We’ve had some players who have been in camp for 12 months before they’ve got a game, and other players who have got a game after a week. That’s one of the most fascinating parts of the job.”
.
