England Rugby Union Head Coach Eddie Jones was a special guest at the Jacuzzi®️ Elite Performance Centre last week.
Brett Hodgson has a strong rapport with Jones, having previously visited the England Rugby Union set up a couple of years ago.
Jones is of the highest coaching pedigree. He guided England to the final of the Rugby World Cup in 2019, when they finished runners-up to South Africa in Japan.
At his post with the England squad since 2015, Jones has also previously been assistant at the Springboks, whilst the 61-year-old has also taken the lead role at Queensland Reds and Saraces on both sides of the world.
Hodgson invited his Australian compatriot to join in with a couple of training sessions with the first team squad last Thursday and Friday in preparation for our upcoming Betfred Super League fixtures.
Not only did the Black & Whites benefit from the sessions, but Jones also acknowledged the value he took from his visit to East Yorkshire.
“Yeah I spent a couple of days at the club’s training ground with the team last week,” he said.
“I was lucky enough to be invited to spend two days with the club by Brett Hodgson and join in with a couple of training sessions.
“I’m always open to learning new things from different sports. In particular rugby league, there’s plenty to learn about the attacking strategy in rugby league.
“Brett was a player I admired a lot when I watched him play back in Australia and now he has gravitated towards the coaching side of the game. He’s doing a great job here at Hull.
“The club gets to learn as much as I get to learn from being here, but certainly having somebody from the outside coming in and just seeing things from a different point of view can add some value.
“I liked the look of the little left footed seven, Marc Sneyd. He looked very sharp. Josh Reynolds on the right hand side had plenty of ball playing ability, too.
“Knowing that I was scheduled to come up here in May, I have been keeping tabs on Hull’s progress in the Super League so far this season.
“I also watch every single game of the NRL – I really do enjoy watching rugby league.
“The efforts of the players to play the game of rugby league are absolutely outstanding. The skill combined with the physicality of the game makes it a great spectacle.”
Danny Houghton, who is one of three co-captains for the Black & Whites this season, was taken aback by how humble Jones came across as.
“What he’s achieved in the game of Rugby Union at the various different levels he has coached at speaks for itself, but he was really humble and down to earth when he came to visit us,” Houghton said.
“He’s obviously come from a rugby league background back in Australia, but it’s really encouraging to see him still following the sport so strongly. He told us that he’s watched a few of our games this season and that he follows the NRL pretty religiously, too.
“Before the first session started on Thursday, he spoke to the players and reminded us of our potential. Obviously we have had a good start to 2021, but he kept reminding us of the importance of kicking on and continuing on our strong run.
“He had some great stories to tell from his coaching experiences all around the world and there some valuable lessons to take from those stories, as well.
“It was something a little bit different for us as a group to have Eddie Jones come in for a couple of days. To have him joining in with a few of the drills was pretty good.”
This feature was first seen in Monday’s edition of The 18th Man match day programme. If you would like to purchase an edition online – click here
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