Steady on, Eddie

By RICHARD BOOCK

Pacifix Islanders assistant coach and former All Black great Michael Jones has a message for his Australian counterpart, Eddie Jones: "start taking notes, mate".

Far from rattled by Australia's adverse reaction to the physical nature of last weekend's test in Adelaide, Jones has promised more of the same in tomorrow night's test at Albany, and says his namesake could learn something from watching it.

Eddie Jones launched a thinly-veiled attack on the Islanders after his side's hard-fought 29-14 win in South Australia, effectively accusing veteran referee Andre Watson of omission when he said "you expect the referee to enforce the rules of the game".

The outburst followed a series of injuries suffered by Australian players before and during the test at Adelaide, most of which had little to do with any offending, and a lot to do with good hard rugby.

Michael Jones is still bridling over the slight, and suggested Jones had done himself and his rugby team a disservice by perpetuating the myth that Pacific Island rugby players were more undisciplined than any others.

He found it ironic that the Australian coach's remarks had followed the tour Downunder from England, a team that had distinguished itself in the field of obstruction, continual off-the-ball infringing, and opportunism of the worst kind.

And he said it was apparent throughout last weekend's game that the Australian management were looking for trouble.

"It was interesting to me that the Australian defensive coach was on the sideline complaining to the ref about our tackling," said Jones this week. "I thought he would have been better off taking notes."

The highly-regarded Pacific Islands boss said he was tired of people with their own agendas blaming his team for the physical nature of their play, as if there was a rule against tackling certain opponents too hard.

He stopped short of accusing the Australians of trying to whiten, or anglicise the game, but said some people had deep-seated stereotypical attitudes that needed to be challenged and exposed.

"I was offended by Eddie Jones' remarks - and I was disappointed that his comments clouded what should have been a magnificent time for the Pacific Island rugby region.

"In my experience, Island players appear to attract extra scrutiny than non-Island players. It's a stigma that we can do without, to be honest.

"You often see our guys penalised for tackles that are otherwise deemed perfectly legal when effected by non-Pacific Island players."

Michael Jones was thrilled with the way Watson refereed the game and said his players seemed to enjoy playing under a referee who understood the level he was officiating at, and appreciated that hard and controlled aggression was part of the game.

He was also keen to rebuff any suggestion that his side would temper their aggression or commitment to the tackle against the All Blacks, in order to avoid any potential backlash against their style of rugby.

But he did say that just as the physically dominant black American NBA basketballers needed to be extremely disciplined, so did his Pacific Island players need to be careful - simply because of their greater capacity.

There was also the matter of accuracy in the tackle, a part of the game that his players prided themselves on.

"We're not one of the best teams on the ground, but we are one of the best tackling and defensive teams, and we have to use that strength to it's best advantage," he said.

"We've got to continue to get right up in the All Blacks' faces and take the game to them. You can't sit back and wait for things to happen.

"As Pacific Islanders we were always taught to turn defence into offence by tackling strongly and we saw a lot of that at Adelaide. People shouldn't be trying to referee that out of rugby."

Jones said care had been taken to work with his players on their tackling technique, in an attempt to ensure that the point of contact was always legal, and that arms were always being used.

"Because of this extra scrutiny we're getting, we're trying to err on the side of being legal in the tackle, rather than accidentally going in high."

For all that, Jones said he was looking forward to the showdown with the All Blacks, particularly as the New Zealand rugby public had a much better understanding of Pacific Island style than their Australian counterparts.

"When the Island teams come to town it's a different crowd, and we certainly hope to see that at Albany because it adds so much colour and flavour.

"We know the people are going to turn up, and we know it'll be a festive and entertaining occasion. That's good because our guys play for pride and who they are, for their community and for their people.

"Any time they get that sort of opportunity, it really inspires them to bigger and better things."