Moody has England as Six Nations favourites

ENGLAND head coach Eddie Jones’ fearless approach bears a striking resemblance to Rugby World Cup winner Clive Woodward, according to Red Rose legend Lewis Moody.

And the former back-rower, who played under Woodward in the triumphant team in 2003, believes England are now favourites to win this year’s Six Nations after beating Ireland.

Jones masterminded a famous England victory over the defending Grand Slam champions and odds-on favourites at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday – their first win in Dublin since 2013.

The Australian has previously come under criticism for his bold statements, including suggesting winger Jack Nowell could play flanker in the build up to this year’s Championship.

But Moody thinks that Jones’ fearless nature and constant desire to innovate shows that he is cut from the same cloth as Woodward – which will only benefit England in the long run.

“The pressure will always be on Eddie as he’s the main man and loves throwing comments out there to rile people like the whole Jack Nowell thing,” Moody said, speaking on behalf of Land Rover.

“But I like the fact that he is an innovator, he likes trying new things. He’s a bit like Clive Woodward was back in the day as he was not afraid to try things, to say things, to get them wrong.

“If it didn’t go right Clive would go back and say, ‘You know what, that didn’t work, but I’m happy we tried it, it was an idea and we’ll go do something else’.

“Eddie Jones is very similar in that regard and it’s a boring life and a boring old game if you’re not prepared to try things because you’re scared of failure.”

While Moody hailed Jones’ confidence in himself, the former Leicester Tigers and Bath Rugby legend thinks the victory against Ireland also proved he is willing to make some concessions.

“There’s no doubt that he has a huge amount of belief,” said Moody. “It would appear that he’s listened to the feedback from players and his backroom staff about overworking the team.

“They certainly looked fresher coming into the game at the weekend and I know they’ve had some time in Portugal. if you look at your international sides, they are the elite players.

“They are there because they’re the best players already, they are there because they’re performing for their clubs, when they come to the international setup you don’t need to flog them.

“You don’t need to kill them off, they do that week in week out for their clubs. What you need to do is provide an environment where they are comfortable.”

England, who claimed back-to-back Six Nations under Jones in 2016 and 2017, will welcome France to Twickenham in Round Two as they look to maintain their title ambitions.

And Moody expects England to thrive under the pressure of going from Championship underdogs to frontrunners after spoiling Ireland’s attempt at historic back-to-back Grand Slams.

“All teams struggle with that favourite tag because it means every side wants to go out and cut you down, but I think it’s something Eddie and his England side has never been afraid of saying,” he said.

“They want to be number one in the world, that is their goal, they know if they get there then they are going to be a target, but that’s their target, where they want to be.

“You can call it arrogance, confidence, that’s where you want to be. That ultimate belief is what you’ve got to have to be a World Cup winning side and I’m really excited about England.

“They have definitely gone from underdogs to favourites without a shadow of a doubt – you can’t have that good of a performance away from home against the current Grand Slam champions and not be in everyone’s minds for finishing top.”

Lewis Moody is a Land Rover ambassador. Land Rover shares and understands the values of rugby. @LandRoverRugby