Eddie Jones has been a breathe of fresh air to the Six Nations. The Australian has brought a cockiness back to England that Stuart Lancaster had shed after the fiasco of the Martin Johnson era.
Jones didn't take long to have swipes at various teams, with Ireland in his crosshairs over their tendency to kick 70% of their ball away.
While Schmidt and the Irish management have opted not to respond publicly to Jones, an English journalist has taken it upon himself to come to Schmidt's defense. Daniel Schofield of the Telegraph uses stats from the opening rounds of the Six Nations that not only proves why Jones is wrong - but also shed a light on Jones' own tactics:
Ireland have kicked the least ball from hand (53), which equates to nine per cent of their possession. England, meanwhile, have kicked the ball from hand 77 times, or 15 per cent of their possession, the most in the championship.
Schofield compares this to last year's Six Nations when England kicked more than any other team, with the most amount of kicks inside an opponent's 10-metre line too.
Schofield's conclusion is that Ireland are unfairly branded for the tactic because it's so effective for them. He points to Henshaw's brilliant take when Teddy Thomas was targeted against France - and also points out that Ireland didn't try to go after Thomas again after that.
See Also: Eddie Jones Is Happy To Use 'Hatred' Against Ireland
See Also: Eddie Jones' Ability To Take Swipes At Ireland Would Make Warren Gatland Jealous
Picture credit: Stephen McCarthy / SPORTSFILE
