England coach Jones offers to help old Stormers team
CAPE TOWN, (Reuters) - New England coach Eddie Jones has offered to help out his old club, the Stormers, just days from the start of the Six Nations Championship.
The Australian, who left for England in November after spending only a few weeks at the helm with the Stormers, has made himself available to the Super Rugby side on an informal basis.
"He sent me a message through his agent the other day to say he is available at any stage though obviously he is pretty hectic at the moment," Jones' successor Robbie Fleck told a news conference on Tuesday.
"He said when he left here that the option was there and he has backed up on his word. I am really grateful for that. I certainly will send him some footage and give him an update of where we are."
England meet Scotland in their Six Nations opener in Edinburgh on Saturday.
Former Japan coach Jones' stay in Cape Town was brief but Fleck said he made a big impression and the team would adopt some of his ideas this season.
"The brilliant thing when Eddie was here was that we had all this knowledge and ways we wanted to play but he just simplified things," said former South Africa centre Fleck who has taken charge of a Super Rugby team for the first time.
"At the end of the day his big message was the fundamentals of rugby have not changed over the years, it's just having the confidence to go forward and do it."
The Stormers get their Super Rugby campaign underway against the Bulls on Feb. 27.
(Reporting by Nick Said; Editing by Tony Jimenez; nick.said@thomsonreuters.com; +27832722948; Reuters Messaging: Reuters Messaging: nick.said.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)
