https://www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union ... die-jones/
https://www.rugbypass.com/news/jones-bl ... y-players/
Why is it relevant to us?
It's not too far away from some points Stuart Lancaster & James Lowe have said about the Leinster setup and it's certainly something that I think LR are trying to address.
The private schools (and a handful in particular) are incredible, world class providers and nurturers of talent.They work hard but they only know what they know. If you have only been in a system where you get to 15, you have a bit of rugby ability and then go to Harrow. Then for two years you do nothing but play rugby, everything’s done for you. That’s the reality. You have this closeted life.
“When things go to cr@p on the field, who's going to lead because these blokes have never had experience of it? I see that as a big thing.
There's also a huge 'cohesion' benefit to guys having played with each other the whole way up.
But (according to Lancaster), they do tend to breed a certain type of personality.
We need diversity of background and experience to build a winning team and a little bit of edge that comes from having had to earn things a different, often harder way.
The SOBs, Furlongs and indeed the imports like Nacewa, Lowe etc are so vital to making sure our culture isn't too homogenised and there's a little bit more edge to the side.