Eddie Jones wants England to replace All Blacks as 'most dominant'

Eddie Jones has set his sights on taking down the All Blacks. Photo / Getty Images

Eddie Jones wants England to replace the All Blacks as "the most dominant team in the world" and insists that mission begins with beating Scotland in their Six Nations opener at Murrayfield on February 6.

Jones will name his first 33-man English squad at Twickenham on Thursday NZ time to usher in a new era for the England squad following their disastrous World Cup campaign and the subsequent departure of Stuart Lancaster and his backroom team.

"Ultimately we want to be the most dominant team in the world but to start with we have to beat Scotland, that's the most important thing," Jones said.

"When we go to Scotland we have to make sure the players are well prepared, we are cohesive, the players understand their roles and then we have got to play with enormous pride and passion.

"That is what international rugby is all about and I know the England players we select will not be short of pride and passion."

The former Wallabies and Japan national coach will spearhead a new-look England coaching set-up comprising of forwards coach Steve Borthwick, defence guru Paul Gustard and Ian Peel, who will work as scrum coach on a part-time basis for the tournament.

Northampton assistant coach Alex King was heavily linked with a role in Jones' new backroom staff but denied there was any formal approach for his services.

"We are all done and dusted," said Jones on his backroom team for the championship. "We have Steve Borthwick looking after set piece with Ian Peel assisting. Guzzy (Gustard) looking after defence and I will coach attack so we don't need anyone else at this stage."

Jones will name his first squad without a host of injured players including Jonny May, Henry Slade, Ed Slater, Alex Corbisiero, Dave Attwood, Kieran Brookes and Dave Ewers.
George Kruis, Dylan Hartley and Jack Nowell also sustained injuries during a punishing weekend of English premiership action.

Following a shambolic World Cup, the pressure will be on England to bounce back during the Six Nations.

"It puts no pressure on me. The pressure is on the player," acknowledged Jones.

"If the player hasn't been selected he hasn't done well enough, it's as simple as that, so all the pressure is on the player. Whatever the media says, the media gets paid to do their job and I accept there will be criticism of the squad.

"I accept people will think other players should be in but at the end of the day the players select themselves because they express themselves in a way that I can see them be a profitable part of a winning England team."

Last season's Six Nations finished in a blaze of glory with a veritable try-fest across Europe as Wales, Ireland and England chased the title on one of the most extraordinary days in the tournament's history.

The World Cup was very much played in the same spirit with high-tempo, attacking rugby the dominant theme throughout an exhilarating competition.

And Jones, who masterminded Japan's shock victory over the Springboks during the World Cup, believes an attacking mindset is the only way forward for England.

"The coach is a servant to the player," Jones added. "We have to make sure we give the players everything they need to perform well when we play against Scotland at Murrayfield.

"You have to be able to increase the tempo of the game. The old days when you could strangulate teams, yes you can do that every now and again in test matches but you have to be able to increase the tempo of the game at various times.

"Everything being done in the game at the moment is to speed the game up. The latest example is the maul law. The game is not going to regress."

- Daily Mail