FAST Eddie's England have done it, and in the process of knocking New Zealand out of the World Cup in Yokohama yesterday they have simultaneously done themselves and the game at large a huge favour.
The All Blacks' eight years as the emperors of the world game, the first double world champions, is long enough, and the idea of every other nation being under their yoke for another four years did not bear thinking about.
England are now in a strong position to go all the way and become world champions for the second time, because neither South Africa nor Wales will relish taking on the side that Eddie Jones built – and then rebuilt – just in time to mount a full tilt challenge at this tournament.
However, having fired from the hip continuously during the week leading into the semi-final against the All Blacks, Fast Eddie appeared to have run short of ammunition as he contemplated his side's 19-7 dethroning of New Zealand.
His characterisation of England as no-hoper underdogs chasing Steve Hansen's New Zealand's triple titleseeking champs down the street, as well as raising the spectre of someone spying on England from the high rise buildings overlooking their training ground, was suddenly toned down once a place in the final was in the bag.
Instead, Jones was magnanimous.
He paid tribute to Hansen as one of the great “All Black coaches” and praised New Zealand for their great attributes and never-say-die attitude, even though the game plan he devised in his two-and-a-half year targeting of this match paid off handsomely.
“Jones knows that celebrations have to be curtailed rapidly and the re-set button pressed” The England coach has good reason to tread a little more softly because he knows the job is only half done. He knows that next week's final – whether England face Wales or South Africa – will take another monumental effort of concentration, resilience, discipline and determination if his squad are to return home with the Webb Ellis Trophy.
Jones knows that any celebrations after laying to rest the All Black bogey have to be curtailed rapidly and the reset button pressed, because, as he put it, “the psychological approach to the game is becoming increasingly important”.
Just how important it is takes us back to what some commentators this week have called “The Eddie Jones Show”. Those of us who have followed England for the last four years, know that it is a long-running production that started very soon after he signed on the dotted line for the RFU at the end of 2015.
One of the first shortcomings that Jones identified was that there was a lack of leaders at the elite end of the English club game, and even though he plugged the gap with Dylan Hartley and then his current captain, Owen Farrell, it has been a live issue throughout his tenure as coach.
As a consequence Jones, who is a naturally extrovert character, has developed the mindset of protecting his players from the media by becoming the main face and spokesman of the England side.
As a former teacher in Australia used to standing up in front of kids who have turned asking awkward questions into an art form, he was not fazed by having to talk to rugby journalists, and indeed has often seemed to enjoy the limelight.
The only downside has been that while the Jones' profile has grown, his largely protectionist policy towards media interviews with either players, coaches or support staff in his camp, means that as we get to the final of the World Cup very few of his players are known to the wider audience outside rugby in the way that Jonny Wilkinson, Martin Johnson and Lawrence Dallaglio were going into the 2003 final.
The upside is that there are encouraging signs during this World Cup campaign that Jones will no longer have to shoulder most of the load when it comes to being the public face of the team.
The England coach indicated that his players are starting to take responsibility for the running of the team themselves, rather than always turning to him for guidance: “I thought Owen Farrell and the leaders on the field were absolutely exceptional.
They kept the team discipline, kept our game-plan, kept attacking where we thought New Zealand were weak, and we didn't divert from that.” What cannot be ignored is that the profile of the whole squad will change if England win the 2019 World Cup, with players like Maro Itoje, Sam Underhill and Tom Curry joining Farrell in being catapulted into a much higher profile orbit.
“Jones will have to decide if he wants another four-year term up until the 2023 World Cup”
At the same time Jones will have to decide if he wants another four-year term, with speculation rife that RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney is currently in Tokyo trying to persuade him to sign an extension up to and including the 2023 World Cup in France. Already he is on £750,000 a year, so the RFU, despite their financial troubles, may have to dig deep.
Then there is the situation of the squad earning a £1.28m win bonus by beating New Zealand. Should England win the final that figure will increase to a whopping £2.5m.
It is no surprise that Jones wants to keep his players grounded after the win over New Zealand, with prize money becoming part of the motivation for scaling the game's highest peak.
It probably explains why Fast Eddie called the preparation for the final, “just another week, mate”.
Jones added that he hoped Wales and South Africa drew three-all and played two sets of extra-time so that whoever gets through to face England in the final is knackered.
Just another week? It is worth remembering that Jones has not won a World Cup as a head coach. He lost out to Clive Woodward's England in 2003 and was only a consultant coach with South Africa in 2007.
Jones wants to win bar nothing, and so far he has shown that when it comes to getting this England team to peak at the right time he is a mastercraftsman.
