"A young Richie McCaw" - Eddie Jones ranks the five best players he’s ever coached

Using several interviews with various sources from down the years, we’ve formed Eddie Jones dream team of the players based on the players he bestowed with the most acclaim.

DID YOU KNOW? Eddie Jones made three appearances for Leicester Tigers during the 1991/92 season in England.

Jones said: “Tom leads by example and he reminds me of a young Richie McCaw, who was able to lead by example. As he progresses there will be other bits and pieces of his captaincy that grow.

“But at the start of his career it’s all about leading by example and getting the team on to the front foot.

"He just keeps getting better and better. You forget that he's only 23. He's already one of the best players I've worked with."

DID YOU KNOW? In the late 1990s, Gregan and his wife had started planning for his post-playing career. Formulating plans for a coffee shop business, in 1998 he counted and then surveyed commuters at Wynyard station. The first GG's Espresso shop opened in 1999, and presently there are 9 GG's Espresso cafes across Sydney and Brisbane. These form the basis of a wider food and hospitality business, The Gregan Group, which turned over Aus$10M and employs 280 people

Jones wrote: "In England there has been much criticism of me coaching Suntory, and working with Beauden. But for me the best thing is that Beauden, one of the world’s great rugby players, is comfortable enough in himself, as I am in myself, to talk about the game so openly.

"We’re not trying to take anything away from each other. We’re trying to help each other and to just share our love of the game. Winning matters hugely, but I want the game of rugby to grow and to be truly great."

DID YOU KNOW? Barrett won the World Rugby Player of the Year award consecutively in 2016 and 2017

Jones wrote: "When Maro Itoje burst onto the scene you could have come from Mars and still been able to tell that he was going to be a special player.

"You didn’t need any deep rugby knowledge or foresight to predict an outstanding career for him if he stayed on track."

Jones said: “If I had to pick out three players who improved consistently throughout their Test careers, the first name would be easy. George Smith went onto become a world-class player.

"How Australia let him go at 28, it's a crime. Can you imagine if New Zealand let Richie McCaw go at 28? It's just ridiculous. He should be the most capped player for Australia and he should be remembered as an all-time great. It's one of the great sins of Australian rugby.

"I've never seen a kid who can play the game as much as he can. He was an 18-year-old playing for Manly in his first first-grade game and I remember Ewen McKenzie and I sat there and watched the video. We had him signed by the Wednesday of the next week. He was that good. He could read the game, he had attacking skills, he had defensive skills, he was just a terrific player."

DID YOU KNOW? Smith, who is of Tongan background, is the older brother of fellow Brumbies player and Tongan rugby league international Tyrone Smith