Eddie Jones: British and Irish Lions have shown England how they can beat New Zealand at Twickenham

England have more players from the 2017 Lions squad than any other of the home nations

Eddie Jones hopes that an in-depth plan of attack can be the downfall of New Zealand, with last year’s Lions tour providing a catalogue of how to beat them along with having a Kiwi coach of their own in the ranks.

A senior meeting on Sunday night saw Jones, his backroom staff and key leaders in the squad put together a plan that, they hope, will be implemented when England face the reigning world champions at Twickenham on Saturday, where they will look to pressure the All Blacks just like Warren Gatland’s side did last summer.

With more England players in the 2017 British and Irish Lions squad than any other of the home nations, Jones tasked them with providing feedback on the tour, which famously finished in a 1-1 series draw with both sides claiming a win apiece before the third Test draw.

“When our boys played for the Lions we got them to do notes about what they felt worked and didn't work,” Jones said. “We've gone through those notes. We had a meeting with the senior players last night and have a pretty good idea of how we want to play against New Zealand.

“We're pretty good in that area. We've got John [Mitchell, defence coach] and myself who has coached against them a few times. I've been beaten by them by 50 points so I know what not to do against them. I've also been lucky enough to have a few victories against them as well.

“With the knowledge of the Lions players and John we've got a pretty good idea of what they’re going to bring but then you’ve got to be good enough to beat them.”

In what will be their first Test against the All Blacks for four years, England can at least take momentum from their Quilter International victory over the Springboks last weekend. The 12-11 win was largely based on a ferocious defensive display in the first half, the ability to adapt to referee Angus Gardner’s breakdown preference to win turnover ball in the second half and the accuracy of kicking duo Owen Farrell and Elliot Daly - who supplied all 12 points through penalties that overcame Sbi Nkosi’s first-half try.

The British and Irish Lions held New Zealand to a 1-1 series draw (Getty)

One area where the Springboks malfunctioned heavily was the lineout, with hooker Malcolm Marx - regarded as one of the best in his position in the world - overthrowing in key positions three times. Upon reflection, Jones believes that the errors were more of a reflection of the pressure being applied by England as opposed to Marx having a bad day, and from what he saw on the Lions tour Jones hopes to do the same this weekend.

“The Lions put a lot of pressure on the All Blacks in areas they didn't enjoy and were able to get them off rhythm and off tempo. There's a bit to be learned there,” he added.

“I think they put some pressure on their lineout, they took a lot of tempo out of it. At times they put pressure on their playmakers but you've got to be able to do that consistently well.”

That is one of the issues that stands in the way of not only England, but every one of New Zealand’s rivals who believe they can end their eight-year grip on the World Cup in Japan next year. Ireland famously beat the All Blacks in 2016, the Lions inflicted defeat on them last year and South Africa emerged victorious against them in this year’s Rugby Championship, but the fact remains that they have not lost two matches in a calendar year since 2008.

England rallied to clinch a close-fought 12-11 victory against South Africa (EPA)

If England are to break that run, they will need to capitalise on any opportunities that come their way. They were guilty of not doing that against the Springboks, with Elliot Daly twice ignoring a free Jonny May outside him to cut inside when a try was potentially on, and Jones is well aware - from recent history and his own experiences against them - that even taking all of your chances is sometimes not enough to beat New Zealand.

“You've got to play a certain way against them, there's no doubt about that,” he added. “There's parts of the game that they enjoy and you want to take them away from them. If you're good enough to take that away from them then you've got to be good enough to score points. When you get the opportunities you've got to be able to score points but I don't think there's any magic formula. It's not like Pythagoras' theorem. You've got to be in the game and, when you get the opportunity to score points, you've got to be good enough to take them. Sounds simple?”

But against a side that since the start of the Lions tour has won nearly 90 per cent of their matches, that’s easier said than done.

Handre Pollard missed a match-winning penalty kick for South Africa (Getty)

“That figure of 91 per cent shows you it's not simple. When we were successful with Australia we could beat them because we could get to their set-piece, particularly their line-out. Since 2011 their lineout has gone from good to being outstanding. So has their scrum and the depth of their players. They're the three areas they've improved the most in.

“We need to stay in the fight. The game could go away from us at certain times. We need to be absolutely brutal up front and we need to be clinical when we get opportunities. If you look back at that Lions series, the Lions would have won if they were clinical with their opportunities. You’ve got to score points when you get opportunities.”

Jones also plans to mix up England’s training routine this week, which is more to do with his ongoing preparations for Japan 2019 as opposed to anything special for the upcoming Tests. His 35-man squad only arrived in camp on Monday afternoon for a walk-through session, with light training planned for Tuesday before a high-intensity session on Wednesday, a day earlier than normal.

With the excitement of facing New Zealand for the first time under his tenure evident already, the cut in training should not heavily impact a squad that appears already to be raring to go. The question is whether they can harbour that excitement to focus on Jones’ plan and execute it just as the Lions did, as get it wrong and Steve Hansen’s side - the majority rested after a second-string outfit thrashed Japan last weekend - will have no hesitations in destroying them like Lions to the slaughter.