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Eddie Jones has signaled a ceasefire in his feud with World Rugby after praising its success in raising the standards of tier-two nations competing at the World Cup.<\/p>\nEddie Jones has signaled a ceasefire in his feud with World Rugby after praising its success in raising the standards of tier-two nations competing at the World Cup.<\/p>\n
England have launched their group campaign with comfortable bonus-point wins over Tonga and the United States, the two lesser teams in a pool that also contains Argentina and France.<\/p>\n
But while both victories were secured with minimal fuss, they were notable for the stubborn resistance offered by the underdogs, continuing a theme evident so far at Japan 2019.<\/p>\n
For the first time in nine installments of the World Cup, no team scored 50 points in a match in the opening week, ending the blight of landslide wins against smaller nations that have scarred previous tournaments.<\/p>\n
Jones has been critical of World Rugby during the summer, describing it as \u2018Big Brother\u2019 on one occasion, but he has been impressed by the work put into closing the gap.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re seeing the tier-two countries much better physically prepared,\u201d England\u2019s head coach said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve played against Tonga and America now and both of them had big, physical packs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re fitter than they ever have been and that\u2019s a great thing for the World Cup, because we\u2019ve got these tier-two countries fighting hard and it\u2019s producing some great rugby.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a credit to World Rugby. They don\u2019t get too many credits, but they should get credit for driving tier-two development. It\u2019s great for the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
A complaint often leveled at the sport\u2019s powerhouses is that they do not play their less established rivals frequently enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorld rugby is like having a little brother \u2013 they always want more. There\u2019s always only so much you can do, but just look at how competitive they\u2019ve been at the World Cup,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve had better preparation and there\u2019s more organization put into their structure.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir players are better prepared physically and there are young players coming through. It\u2019s not perfect, but it\u2019s certainly moving in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
England\u2019s players have been given the weekend off to spend time with family before heading to Tokyo on Sunday to begin preparations for the clash with Argentina.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll review the game against the USA and look at the 23 we need to play against Argentina,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll consider the conditions because Tokyo will be 27 degrees and 80 per cent humidity.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a wet-weather game, so we\u2019ll pick a side to play wet-weather rugby. The sun might be shining but it will be wet weather.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis World Cup is unique because of the conditions \u2013 it\u2019s never been played in these conditions before.\u201d<\/p>\n