Grading Eddie Jones on His First 4 Months in Charge of England

They say first impressions count for a lot.

If that's true, Eddie Jones has introduced himself as the new messiah of English rugby in the best possible way.

To misquote Renee Zellweger, the Rugby Football Union seemed to have had their man at "Hello."

As soon as Stuart Lancaster made for the Twickenham exit, the man who had guided Japan to their historic win over South Africa was among the names mentioned to be near the top of the English rugby governing body's shopping list.

He had already signed a deal to coach the Stormers Super Rugby franchise in South Africa and had made his introductory press conference in Cape Town, stating clearly he was not about to welch on that deal, per the Guardian: "There has been no contact and I am committed to the Stormers. I woke up this morning and looked at Table Mountain … I’m very happy to be here."

But that wasn't enough to deter the Red Rose headhunters. And it wasn't enough for Jones to honour his deal down south. Seven days after those quotes came out, Jones was England's new man, per the BBC.

The agreement was done quickly, and Jones was whisked from Table Mountain to Twickenham, London, with dizzying speed.

The former Wallabies coach set about watching the players he would soon take under his tutelage, and when he finally got them together to prepare for the Six Nations, he quickly turned them from laughing stock of their own World Cup to Six Nations Grand Slam champions.

It has been an astonishingly successful first few months in charge for the 56-year-old.

So let's dissect it a little further and see how he has fared in the various facets that comprise the England job.

Jones did not make sweeping changes to his starting team from the lineup deployed by Stuart Lancaster, but in one or two areas, he added players who would increase England’s power.

Dylan Hartley’s return helped reinstate the scrummaging power England lacked in the World Cup, and his throwing to a refreshed set of lineout jumpers ensured England had a lineout set piece better than any other in the tournament.

It was from this platform they laid the foundations for each victory.

We also saw his hand at work at the breakdown. Sir Ian McGeechan wrote in the Telegraph:

At the RWC none of the northern hemisphere sides could live with New Zealand and Australia there.

But I sense a shift. You could see how much England have improved in that respect in the Six Nations, with the Wales game the best example of the increased mobility of their back five in the pack. I think Eddie Jones will keep showing his side replays of that 40 minutes. They were superb.

In the back row, the selection of James Haskell and Chris Robshaw was a little perplexing. It left England playing with no natural No. 7, a major gripe about the side under Lancaster, one even voiced by Jones himself during the World Cup.

But Haskell strung together some of his best and most disciplined displays, and Robshaw, while continuing to be unspectacular, did what he does well. What these two lacked in guile, their back row colleague Billy Vunipola made up for in sheer power.

England used him regularly and to great effect as a ball carrier, but Jones must know that he needs more than the bullocking runs of Big Billy to barge down the doors of the likes of New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.

Perhaps Jones’ smarts were best seen in his use of the bench.

He assembled a high-impact supporting cast who made significant contributions when called upon.

Danny Care and Maro Itoje impressed in particular when coming on against Italy, and Itoje eventually forced himself into the starting side.

Grade: A

Jones’ no-nonsense approach to his players seems to have worked.

As noted by the Daily Mail's Chris Foy, Jones remarked before beginning the job that some players seemed too comfortable in the England environment, and he seems to have changed that.

All the talk before he took over was how he would handle Chris Robshaw, whose international obituary was penned following the World Cup.

But Robshaw’s form for Harlequins was rewarded with a place in Jones’ team on the blindside, a position to which he is much more suited, and without the captaincy on his plate, he has impressed back among the rank and file and was singled out after the tournament by Jones.

That was a masterstroke.

We also saw Dylan Hartley keep his cool as skipper and handle the media duties that go with the job well.

Billy Vunipola also spoke of that change in the atmosphere in the camp under Jones, describing it as a happier place to be, where now, James Haskell even talks to him, per the Daily Mail.

The Joe Marler incident tested Jones’ ability to impose discipline where players step out of line, and he dealt with it swiftly.

Although the issue later mushroomed beyond his remit, he was quick to defend Marler publicly, creating that famous "us against them" mentality so often deployed by coaching greats like Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho.

Grade: A+

Jones has no time for questions he doesn’t like.

That much became clear in a spat with the press ahead of England’s clash with Ireland.

He began by deliberately questioning the well-being of Irish No. 10 Jonathan Sexton (per the Telegraph's Mick Cleary) following the heavy-handed treatment the Leinsterman received from the French, which prompted a question as to whether England would be targeting him in the same way.

Jones bristled at the suggestion and had a heated exchange with his inquisitor, per the Daily Mail's Chris Foy.

These things made for entertaining copy at the time, but establishing a spiky relationship with the press at such an early stage could return to haunt Jones when times get tough and results don’t go his way.

We also saw an attempt from Jones to use the media to highlight what he described as illegal scrummaging by Wales, per WalesOnline's Jon Doel.

It was a retaliation after Welsh forwards coach Robin McBryde had pinpointed Joe Marler’s own scrumming technique as questionable, per WalesOnline's Simon Thomas.

These are not new tricks, and they all make for good coverage following the sterile schoolmasterly presence of Stuart Lancaster at the top table. Jones just needs to remember where the line is and not stray across it too often.

Grade: B

The silverware is on the sideboard, the win column reads five from five, and the grin on Jones’ face is as wide as the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

England weren’t always fluent, but they did catch fire at times, and for the first time in 13 years, they beat allcomers in the Six Nations, claiming that long-awaited Grand Slam.

Results are everything in this business, as Stuart Lancaster found out, and Jones has begun with a perfect record.

You just can’t argue with winning.

Grade: A+