Cheika says Jones improving England

Wallabies coach Michael Cheika says Eddie Jones has brought a spark to England but he doesn’t think that will lead to fireworks when the teams meet in a three-Test series in June.

Jones, who coached Australia between 2001 and 2005, took over the top job with England following their disastrous World Cup campaign last year when they were eliminated in the pool stage.

They have won their two Six Nations matches under his tutelage which didn’t surprise Cheika.

“They’ve been playing much better,” he said.

“You look at the way they’ve been playing and he’s given them more belief straight away and that’s what I knew he’d do.

“Even in the World Cup it was small margins so I expect them to be at the top of that Six Nations tree and it will be a really good series when they come out here.”

Cheika is a former teammate of Jones during their Sydney club rugby days at Randwick and said Australia should be proud of his coaching achievements.

He said there wasn’t any rivalry between the two, although that didn’t mean Jones wouldn’t be desperate to win on home soil, with the Tests in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.

“He will want to win but his history with Australia is brilliant,” Cheika said.

“He took Australia to a World Cup final in his home country and he’s influenced a lot of players in the game here so I don’t think there’s any bitterness.

“He will want to win because he will want to do the best by his team.”

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