Eddie Jones wants England playing like Arsenal after revealing he has swapped notes with Mikel Arteta.
The Red Rose rugby boss has just 13 Tests to turn his team into a crack outfit capable of challenging for the World Cup in France - and is leaving no stone unturned. First he picked the brains of the US Navy SEALs who took down Osama Bin Laden for tips on making his England team more streetwise.
Now he has turned to the Premier League leaders for lessons on the fast starts that have been such a feature of the Gunners’ impressive campaign.
“In rugby 75 per cent of Test matches are won by the team who score the first try,” said Jones. “We’ve been good at it at times and not so good at other times.
“Mikel is a super bright young coach, a brilliant young guy. What have I learned from him? How fast Arsenal get out of the blocks. Every game they’re at it. They play with energy, they know how they want to play, they put the opposition on the back foot.”
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The Gunners have scored first in 80 per cent of their games, winning nine of their 10 games and leading the league by four points.
Jones first got to know Arteta last year when the Spaniard visited the England rugby camp. They are now on a WhatsApp coaching group together with Green Bay Packers NFL coach Matt LaFleur and a couple of NBA luminaries.
“It’s like Alcoholics Anonymous,” Jones quipped. “We all go in and share our problems and everyone tells you what they think. It’s fantastic.”
