Eddie Jones has hit back at criticism of his replacement policy for England’s forwards from World Cup-winning coach Clive Woodward.
The World Cup-winning coach was critical after Dylan Hartley again did not finish the game in the defeat to Scotland.
He said: “Can you imagine Lawrence Dallaglio or Martin Johnson going off at Murrayfield with 25 minutes to go when their team are in dire trouble?”
Jones, though, defended his rotation policy, saying: “The game has changed in terms of intensity. It’s very hard for front-row forwards to play 80 minutes.
“I’ve seen Mako Vunipola go 77 minutes and he comes off as a physical wreck. It takes half a week to recuperate, without any exaggeration.
“So most front-row players around the world go 60 minutes, because of the amount of work they have to do is three times what they had to do 10 years ago.
“Speak to Woodward about his opinion. We have set up the team so that the captaincy is movable.”
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