Missed chance will define Jones’s England era but timing of his departure was

Of all the things Eddie Jones said during his seven years as England coach, and there were plenty of them, one particular idea seemed to strike a jarring note.

It was in the immediate aftermath of England’s masterful victory over the All Blacks in the 2019 World Cup semi-final, when they were one second-half defensive error away from “nilling” the greatest rugby team on the planet. Jones was bubbling, quite rightly, after witnessing the plan he had lovingly constructed transformed into reality in such dominant fashion.

In a post-match interview with ITV, a beaming Jones said: “We’ve got another week in the comp, so we’re excited about that,” celebrating the fact that England had sent the mighty All Blacks home, while his players had earned their shot at glory.

For a coach who frequently describes his fear of falling into “the dreaded comfort zone” it was an uncharacteristic thing to say. The implication, it seemed, was that having progressed beyond a semi-final that many expected them to lose, anything else that came England’s way in Japan would be a bonus.

Jones would deny this, particularly as he emphasised in the same breath that England intended to work hard and “get better” in the final week. But the way the story unfolded over the next several days, culminating in a humbling defeat by the Springboks, seemed to support the idea that a disproportionate amount of energy had been expended in beating the All Blacks.

By his own admission Jones may have erred in his selection for the final, although whether starting Joe Marler instead of Mako Vunipola would have made a decisive difference is open to question. Adding Henry Slade’s creativity from the start would undoubtedly have been an interesting, positive option.

Selection-wise, Rassie Erasmus’s shrewd deployment of South Africa’s front-rowers in Japan provided a lesson in planning for a long tournament, and that would ultimately have a giant impact on the outcome of the final.

Having heavily rotated his front five throughout, avoiding fatigue by never requiring them to play much more than a half by virtue of a six-two forwards-backs split on the replacements’ bench, Erasmus ensured his “Bomb Squad” were ready to explode against England. It was as devastatingly simple as it was effective.

Jones has also said that England struggled find an extra gear for the final. He had told the media the players’ challenge was to be better again the following week, but such was the near-perfection of the semi-final performance, that was asking a lot.

If it seems unfair to rewind three years in assessing Jones’s time in charge, it is merely judging him by the criteria he sets for himself. World Cups are his raison d’etre as a coach, and the tournament cycle is the priority above all else. If it…