Has England coach Eddie Jones backed off from his war of words with All Blacks counterpart Steve Hansen?
A month after saying the All Blacks have 'significant weaknesses', Jones looks to have changed his tune.
"To me, Steve Hansen has a lot to say about everything and he's entitled to when he's winning 90 per cent of his Test matches," Jones told the Daily Telegraph when asked about comments Hansen made during England's 3-0 whitewash over Australia in June.
At the time Hansen said Australian coach Michael Cheika was "happy to be bullied" by Jones.
"I'm not going to comment on anything Steve says," Jones added.
Jones told the Guardian recently: "We want to be the No1 team in the world. New Zealand are head of the pack but they have flaws in their game. They're a bloody good side but they're beatable. You've got to take on their weaknesses ... and they've got significant weaknesses.
"I'm not going to share them with you now; in 2018 I will."
To which Hansen countered: "Eddie's got to make sure we know he's out there, and in this case he's right, isn't he? We do have flaws, but every team has flaws. He's not being a rocket scientist saying that. The key thing is recognising that you have them and making sure that you work away quietly and fix them."
Despite Jones' England beating Australia in three straight tests in June, the former Wallabies coach is confident Cheika's "Australian way" playing style will ultimately topple the All Blacks.
"Just as we are trying to have our English style, what Cheik is doing is right ... the Wallabies just have to get better at playing it.
"Will Genia has got his running game back and he is making a helluva a difference.
"You can't beat the All Blacks by copying their style, you've got to back the Australian way as Cheik calls it."
- With Daily Telegraph