Jeremy Guscott column: Eddie Jones should pick Wayne Smith, Shaun Edwards and Rob Baxter

What will Eddie Jones do with his assistant coaches? Andy Farrell, Graham Rowntree and Mike Catt have all had four years to make an impression with Stuart Lancaster, and, while they went some way towards doing so, in the final analysis they did not make the impression they wanted.
Although Farrell and Rowntree played their part in putting right the off-field culture after 2011, it is now clear that England were not as tight on the field in 2015 as they should have been – and that changes are needed now to improve that mindset.
There has simply not been enough improvement in attack or defence, and it is because of those deficiencies that Jones should bring in new assistant coaches.
However, I don’t include Catt, mainly because I cannot see that a skills coach can be blamed for overall strategy and selection. Most international teams have skills coaches, but I wish someone could explain to me where they find the time to hone skills during Test-match preparation. In any case, I believe also that international players should arrive in camp fit for purpose having practised their skills to perfection in club training.
Jones has hard choices to make regarding his assistants, and he has to get them right. I believe that the coaching team he surrounds himself with should contain Wayne Smith, because he would be an integral part of helping England to succeed on the international stage. England have not had a guru coach since Brian Ashton, and Smith fits the bill having proven his worth with the All Blacks, the (Waikato) Chiefs and Northampton.
Northampton went through huge changes as a club when Smith was there. Yet, the New Zealander took them from the bottom of the league to two Premiership semi-finals – losing out both times to an exceptional Wasps side – and his ability to communicate with players and connect with them, whatever the position, is well-documented. That ability is a gift, and it is why Smith transforms teams.
It’s been reported widely that Smith wants a year’s sabbatical from coaching following his role in New Zealand‘s 2015 World Cup triumph, retaining the world title they won with his help in 2011. If I was in Jones’s shoes I’d say to Smith: “We’ll see you in a year, Wayne, because three years will be plenty of time for you to make things work.”
Next stop, Shaun Edwards. Jones knows that he is available, and he is too good not to sign up. They are both lively characters who like a bit of banter, and I could see them working well together.
Edwards has kept the Wales players on their toes by challenging them consistently. His credentials are proven at the highest level with the Lions, Wales and Wasps, and he would bring a wealth of experience.
In my view, a coach of Edwards’ calibre could do attack as well as defence, because you’ve got to understand both in order to specialise in one. At the very least he could keep the attack seat warm until Smith has finished his sabbatical.
I don’t believe that Wales attack in the way Edwards would, mainly because he was a great support player in Rugby League, and running good support-lines is one of the keys to attack in both codes.
Then I would have Rob Baxter as forwards coach. Baxter has done an excellent job with Exeter Chiefs in the Premiership, to the extent that this season they could be title contenders. Initially, they played rugby to consolidate their position in the top tier which was based mainly on a powerful pack and a good kicking game, but over the last three seasons Exeter have experimented and expanded.
They went from a power game up front to running everything, before recently finding a blend between the two. Baxter’s stamp is all over the Exeter plan, and he’s also proved his worth with England as a caretaker forwards coach on the tour to Argentina just over two years ago.
To attract Baxter might require a joint-venture initially, with him doing the job along with Exeter for the first six months, including 2016 Six Nations – after that it would have to be full-time, and he’d have to decide whether he wants the job. Otherwise it would not be fair on Exeter, or Baxter, because every time he picked an Exeter player for England it would be questioned. You need the slate to be clean to do the job at Test level, and experience tells us that when England come calling it’s a hard job to turn down.
I’m not a great believer in this succession-planning with coaches, and some of the stuff around it is bewildering. Take Graham Henry and Steve Hansen. I don’t think it was ever decided that Hansen would be the next head coach of New Zealand before they won the world title in 2011. However, because it was a winning environment, and Hansen played his part in it, he was picked to take over from Henry.
By contrast, when Andy Robinson took over from Clive Woodward in 2004 it wasn’t going so well. Because Robinson was a World Cup winning coach under Woodward in 2003 he took over, but it got worse for him, and for Brian Ashton, with England in a spiral and desperately looking for inspiration.
To me it seems that succession plans are based on success – and if there is limited or no success, then you look elsewhere.
It is difficult to find many negatives surrounding the Jones appointment as England head coach. He’s experienced, he’s had highs and lows at Test level – and even been sacked – but he’s proved that he is a good, rounded coach.
What he cannot do is make the mistake of bringing over an Aussie blueprint and just slapping it on England. In simplest terms you cannot select Manu Tuilagi and ask him to play like Matt Giteau, or expect Joe Launchbury to play like John Eales.
Jones is too smart for that in any case. However, he will see similarities between George Ford and Stephen Larkham, who he coached during his Wallaby heyday, at fly-half. They are 10s who see the playing matrix earlier than most of those around them, and spot the opportunities. In fact, in terms of backline ability, Jones must be enthused by the prospect of working with Ford, as well as Henry Slade, and Owen Farrell, who has been impressive for Saracens since the World Cup.
What Jones has to develop is an English style. He knows England’s strengths, and he has to get his assistant coaches to guide the players to maximise on them, giving them the freedom to work out the answers for themselves. Coaches of world-class calibre like Smith, Edwards and Baxter can do that.