England coach Eddie Jones says they will work on exploiting New Zealand’s weaknesses this week and insists they are beatable. England set up a Rugby World Cup semi-final clash with the All Blacks by beating Australia 40-16 in the quarters on Saturday but now face their biggest test yet.
New Zealand thrashed Ireland 46-14 on the same and the two-time defending champions have not been beaten in the tournament since losing a quarter-final to France in 2007. However, Jones says his England side have nothing to be afraid of and they will do everything they can to expose and exploit the weaknesses of the All Blacks.
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“No one’s got a 100% record in Test rugby,” said Jones. “No one averages 100 in Test cricket. No one wins every Grand Slam 6-0 6-0. So every team has got a weakness. Every team is beatable.” When asked what those weaknesses were, Jones added: “Well, we’ll find that out during the week.”
“The All Blacks are a great side – well-coached, good leadership team – if you give them the type of ball they want, they are hard to defend against,” added Jones. “But like any team, they’ve got weaknesses. If I was an Englishman I’d be making sure that whatever time the kick-off is in England you’re ready to sit down and watch it.”
