New Zealand never had an aura, says Jones

England boss Eddie Jones is at it again in the press ahead of his side’s big clash against the All Blacks, this time suggesting that the aura surrounding the latter is, and always has been, nothing but a myth and that they are ripe for the plucking.

The last time these two proud teams locked horns was back in the 2019 World Cup; a dramatic contest which saw the English put on a superb display to topple the men in black in commanding fashion.

“New Zealand’s always there for the taking,” Jones said, speaking to Planet Rugby. “Why else do you go and play against them if they’re not there for the taking?

“Well, to me they never had an aura. To me, as I said, they’re always there for the taking. I always enjoy coaching against New Zealand because you’re coaching against the best team and you want to be playing against the best.

“So, to me, they’ve never had an aura, they’ve had a lot of power and a lot of ways to bully teams and we’ve got to make sure that we don’t get bullied on Saturday.”

Jones said the All Blacks have stood up again well after some real troubles earlier in the season which almost saw Head Coach Ian Foster sent packing.

“I think they’ve done remarkably well to come back from where they were. I remember watching them get beaten very conclusively by South Africa (in the Rugby Championship),” he said.

“They came back the next week, played superbly to win and went on to win the Rugby Championship. What a fantastic achievement.

“New Zealand have won five or six in a row now, they’re a team that’s redeveloping.

“They’ve had some of their older players being injured but they have Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock back now, (Ardie) Savea is at his best, so they’ve got a great combination of players and I’m sure they’re going to be at their best on Saturday.”

As is the case every time these teams meet, Saturday is sure to be a humdinger.