England head coach Eddie Jones has admitted that he is powerless about the transformation of the English system where clubs retain control over the players.
Unlike the Southern Hemisphere, where provincial teams work in tandem with the governing body, with the national interest in mind, the game is structured differently in the Northern Hemisphere where many European clubs have control over their players which occasionally leads to conflict with the national set-up.
Jones said he is not there to revolutionise a change and said it’s important to work within the current system in England.
“I’m not Alexander the Great,” he told Press Association Sport.
“This structure has been set up for years and you’re expecting a little Aussie like me to break it in three years,” England head coach Jones said.
“Unless you break it there will be no change, but I can’t control it and am happy to work with what we have.
“We can have discussions about what position a player should play, but the coaches get paid to make their clubs win.
“It’s not like the provinces in New Zealand or Australia or South Africa where they have a responsibility to the national team.
“That’s the structure and we work with it. We’ve got a responsibility to work with the clubs and we do that to a large extent. There’s always conflict, but we’ve established good relationships.”
England struggled at the breakdowns during this year’s Six Nations and in their three-Test series against the Springboks in South Africa in June. This was mainly due to the way it was approached and refereed.
Jones admitted that he has little influence in advising clubs on the tactics to use for improvement.
“It’s not my job to influence how the Premiership is played and I don’t think they would welcome it,” he added.
“The only thing I can affect is how the breakdown’s refereed in the international game and there are ongoing discussions with coaches and referees about that.”