england.south.africa

Eddie Jones wants his England team to get a grip so he will bring in a group of judo experts to freshen up their tackling techniques ahead of the November Tests.

The 56-year-old, who has guided England to a Six Nations Grand Slam and 3-0 series win over his native Australia in his short spell in charge, believes the ancient Japanese martial art can be a useful tool in rugby.

A visit to the British judo training base in Wolverhampton, central England, where he met former world champion Kate Howey, made a big impression on the Australian.  

“We’ve got a couple of people coming from judo, coming down to the Brighton training camp,” said Jones on Friday as he named his sqaud for November clashes against South Africa, Fiji, Argentina and Australia.

“One of the things that really came out of the Australia tour is that we need to work on our grappling area at the tackle. So we’ve got some judo coaches coming in.” – Agence France-Presse

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