Jones defends England's tactics

WORLD VIEW/Australian View: Australia coach Eddie Jones yesterday hit back at the critics who labelled England "boring" after kicking their way into Saturday's World Cup final.

The conditions in Sydney for England's semi-final clash with France were appalling, but Clive Woodward's men adapted perfectly, playing a narrow kicking game to win 24-7.

"It's ridiculous. They are playing in howling wind and pouring rain and people expect them to shift the ball about," said Jones. "It doesn't matter how much you train, you cannot play running rugby in those conditions. You have to play for field position and they did that expertly. The way they controlled the game was first-class.

"To suggest that style is boring is quite rude to the team and disrespectful to rugby in general.

"England have shown they have the ability to play different styles of rugby. They can play with great width and they did that against us in June, or they can play field position.

"We have got to make sure that we do have variety in rugby style. I don't think there is any one right style."

Despite the stick, Jonny Wilkinson has the Australians running scared. At least, he has the Australian media running scared. The front page of the Sydney Daily Telegraph featured a large picture of the England outhalf in a stop sign - "The man between us and the cup" it stated.

The newspaper rolled out a host of former Wallabies to deduce the best way of stopping Wilkinson, the conclusion being that Australia must dominate in the forwards to limit his opportunities. The only problem with that is that Jones conceded his set of forwards were not as tactically smart or technically proficient as England's.

"New Zealand are a power pack, England are technically and tactically the best in the world," he said. "They have got guys who cut their teeth on it in the Zurich Premiership and European Cup.

"The physical challenge is still there but tactically it's much different. In the Southern Hemisphere we need to do some catch-up on our tactics in the forward play."

Jones insisted Saturday's final is just another stepping stone in the Wallabies' development. Rugby union, normally relegated behind league and Aussie Rules in the pecking order, has suddenly become the number one sport in Australia.

But so acute is Jones's drive for perfection he remains unswayed by the buzz which has taken hold. A first win in four attempts against the old enemy would be sweet - but it would do little to satisfy the appetite of the man, a self-confessed workaholic.

"Regardless of Saturday, Monday we start preparing for next season," Jones said matter-of-factly yesterday. "I am no more excited now than I was last week. To me you just get on with enjoying the job. I am keen to continue. Our side hasn't anywhere near reached its potential and we have a chance on Saturday to go another step. The excitement for me is that we can play better."

"When you coach a side you want some continued success. Good sides win over a long period of time and that is how we want this Australia side to be," he said.

"Most of our players are in the ascending stage of their career, they are moving up to the peak. We are not satisfied with what we have done this year. There is great potential with this group of players and if they continue to develop their rugby we will have a pretty good side."