Rugby World Cup 2019: Eddie Jones warns England to prepare for New Zealand ‘samurais’ in semi-finals

England will face the All Blacks for the first time at a World Cup since 1995 after a record-equalling 40-16 victory over Australia

Eddie Jones warned his England team to be wary of the “samurais lurking around the corner” following their quarter-final victory over Australia at the Rugby World Cup.

England look set to face New Zealand in a blockbuster semi-final clash on Saturday, putting them potentially 160 minutes away from winning the Webb Ellis Cup for the second time in their history. The All Blacks delivered a timely reminder though of what lines in wait, with the 46-14 demolition of Ireland demonstrating how much of a challenge they will pose I Yokohama.

Jones was delighted with England’s record-equalling 40-16 victory over the Wallabies that ensures his side have met their minimum expectation in Japan, but the head coach immediately started preparing them for what will be England’s first World Cup meeting with the All Blacks since 1995.

“It’s was a do-or-die game today,”, Jones said. “Everyone understands that and the best samurais were always the guys who had a plan but who could adapt, who had a calm head and they were full of aggression. I thought we were pretty much like that today, but the challenge is how do we get better because there’s always a samurai around the corner, so we’ve got to continue to get better.

“We just want to keep challenging ourselves. We haven’t played our best yet and the challenge for us is how do we get better next week, how do we get better individually as a player, how do we get better as a team, and these World Cups that’s what it’s all about.

“You go from a quarter-final to a semi-final, and the semi-finals are always probably the toughest game of the tournament because you’ve got two teams desperate to make the final. Everyone empties the tank, and you’ve got to find a way in the week’s preparation to get a little bit better. So our challenge this week as a playing squad and coaching squad is how do we find ways to get better? We’ve already decided we’ll have a bit of a rest early in the week and then start training a little bit later.”

The Australian was delighted with how his side responded to an opening 17 minutes in which they saw very little possession, with two tries from Jonny May in four devastating minutes setting the platform for them to take control of the game.

“Particularly in the first 20 minutes we had to really dig in,” Jones added. “They had a lot of possession, about 75 to 77 per cent and they were attacking well with good field position. So it was an important part of the game because if they got out into a lead a bit there we know they’re a front-running team.

“We hung in there, got a bit of momentum back, took our opportunities well and went into half-time in a good position. “

Australia closed the 17-9 half-time lead to a solitary point with Marika Koroibete’s brilliant score soon after the restart, but further scores from Kyle Sinckler and Anthony Watson plus six points from Owen Farrell saw England equal the 26-point winning margin that they achieved at Twickenham two years ago.

Eddie Jones smiles after England beat Australia 40-16 in the World Cup quarter-finals (PA)

“We made a couple of mistakes after half-time and let them back in the game,” said Jones. “But what I was really impressed by the players is their ability to refocus and reset after we had a problem in the game, and that’s a great development of the team and a great job by Owen as captain.”

Having made the big call to drop George Ford from the starting line-up and move Farrell to fly-half to accommodate Henry Slade, Jones was strongly vindicated in his selection, with Farrell delivering his best performance of the World Cup and Slade playing a key role in both of May’s tries.

Jonny May's two tries in 180 seconds transformed England's win over Australia (Getty)

“We’re pleased with selection, 10, 12 and 13 had a lot of defensive work early in the game and we thought that might happen, so Sladey did a great job,” said Jones. “Then I thought George Ford came on in the second half and was absolutely spectacular, filled his role superbly, kept turning Australia around when we needed to, helped Owen with the tactical side of the game particularly when it was opening up.

“I didn’t drop [Ford], I changed his role. I know you guys struggle with that but he changed his role and he was brilliant. Are we vindicated? We’re happy that he played his role well. Rugby’s changed, it’s a 23-man game.”