Edinburgh, Paris: England coach Eddie Jones hailed Billy Vunipola as potentially the best number eight in the world after the Saracens back-rower played a major role in the 15-9 win over Scotland on Saturday.
Lock George Kruis and wing Jack Nowell scored the tries and inside-centre Owen Farrell kicked a conversion and a penalty as an England side captained by hooker Dylan Hartley overcame a disappointing Scotland in their Six Nations opener.
Jones, overseeing his first match as England coach, singled out man of the match Vunipola for special praise.
“I’ve read all the articles about him being too slow to play No. 8, so he’s doing a pretty good job as a slow number eight,” said the Australian, England’s first overseas head coach.
“I thought he was outstanding in his carry in and his defensive work.
“He can be the best number eight in the world. I have no doubt about that.
“He’s a big guy with footwork. He hasn’t used footwork much but he’s finally using it. He’s a fine reader of the game. He knows when to attack off the scrum-half.
“He’s got a good feel for the game, and he’s still a young boy. He’s 22 years old, so imagine when he gets a credit rating how good he’s going to be.”
The contest was no classic but, after the disappointment of England exiting their home World Cup at the pool stage last year, opening a new coaching era with a victory represented a satisfactory first step for Jones.
“You come up here and win the Calcutta Cup, score two tries to nil, and don’t get any injuries, so it’s been a good day at the office,” said the former Japan coach.
“The refereeing at the breakdown was difficult, so it was never going to be a free-flowing game. We had to adjust and I thought our second half performance was commanding.”
Reflecting on his first experience of the Six Nations, Jones added: “It was interesting coming here. We got off the bus and the Scottish were going crazy. There was one little English boy with his beanie [hat] on and for five minutes he yelled, ‘Come on England! Come on England!’”
“His voice was being drowned out but he kept going. It was a bit like the team today. We kept going. We kept plugging ahead and in the end we won the game easily.”
For Scotland, the defeat and the performance came as a backward step from the form that took them to the brink of the last four at the World Cup.
They have not scored a try at home to England since 2004 and have not won a home match against any country in the Six Nations since a 12-8 success against Ireland in February 2013, their worst run of results in the competition at Murrayfield since 1954.
France coach Guy Noves hailed his team’s enthusiasm after a hard-fought 23-21 home win against Italy in their Six Nations opener on Saturday but said Les Bleus had a lot of work to do if they wanted to be fully competitive.
France, who were knocked out of last year’s World Cup with a record defeat against New Zealand in the quarter-finals, played some lively rugby but were often shaky in defence.
“Winning is always interesting,” Noves, who took over from Philippe Saint-Andre after the World Cup, told a news conference. “Despite a very short training period ahead of the game, we managed to win and with a very refreshed team; the boys showed a lot of enthusiasm.” “However, we did not always play with a clear head and there were no rhythm changes. We did not play fast enough. I had the feeling that players aged between 20-29 were actually 35; we’ll have to talk about this.
Results, standings
(Updated till Saturday’s matches)
France 23 Italy 21
Scotland 9 England 15
P W D F A B Pts
1. England 1 1 0 15 9 2
2. France 1 1 0 23 21 2
3. Wales 0 0 0 0 0 0
3. Ireland 0 0 0 0 0 0
5. Italy 1 0 0 21 23 0
6. Scotland 1 0 0 9 15 0
