sport news CHRIS FOY: England have got to start boxing clever... never mind what awaits ... trends now
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England are going back to the present on Saturday afternoon with a welcome reversion to short-term thinking. Never mind what awaits next year — they need to win now and they know it.
No sooner had England dared to allow some of the focus to shift to the 2023 World Cup than Argentina came along last Sunday and made them pay for a lack of pragmatism. Head coach Eddie Jones has accepted responsibility for putting too much onus on the ultimate objective and that flawed approach has altered markedly in recent days.
‘We’ve just tried to streamline it this week, get the messaging more about where we are now rather than where we want to go,’ said Jones. ‘In retrospect, that was probably my fault from last week. It was a bit too much about where we want to go as a team rather than focusing on Argentina.’
England need to fight back from slump against Argentina to beat Japan on Saturday
A lot of focus is being put on next year when England should be looking to build momentum
Captain Owen Farrell was asked about focusing on England’s here-and-now priorities rather than the long-term mission and he said, pointedly: ‘That is pretty key, yeah, which in turn will help us in the long run, hopefully.’
That is the issue in a nutshell — if England put every effort into maximising their performance on Saturday and continue with that outlook, the momentum generated will enhance their World Cup prospects in France next year.
Jones’s team have done enough losing this year. Three successive campaigns have begun with a defeat — and there have been five of those already in 2022, from nine Tests.
Being ambushed by Japan does not bear thinking about, especially with New Zealand and South Africa to come to
