The Australian named a 34-man training squad for the upcoming Autumn Internationals on Monday, ahead of their visit to the Island next week, and he stressed that their five-day camp in St Peter will be an important part of wider planning for the global tournament in France.
Jones’ squad, which will be cut for their opening Test against Tonga on 6 November, includes former Jersey Reds loanee Nic Dolly as one of four uncapped players.
‘We’re using every campaign as a dress rehearsal for the World Cup,’ said Jones.
‘The first thing about Jersey is it’s an opportunity for us to get together as a team. We’ve got to work out in one week what most teams would do in six weeks and we’ll be playing against sides who have been together for three months. It’s a very important camp for us. We’ll be getting to know each other and gaining an understanding of our principles and Jersey is an ideal spot to do that. There is a great training facility at Jersey Reds and we’ll be using the Strive Academy for our strength and conditioning and our recovery. And there’s a great rugby community there.
‘This is the training squad for Jersey, from which the Tonga squad gets picked. They will all have a chance to put their hands up in Jersey.’
Discussing his decision to name Leicester Tigers hooker Dolly, who made 11 appearances for the Reds in 2019/20, Jones said: ‘I have been impressed by him. He has just come into the Premiership this year and he’s an industrious player. He’s been very impressive for Leicester and I feel like he can make the jump to Test rugby.’
England are also due to face Australia and South Africa at Twickenham during their autumn series, on 13 and 20 November, respectively.
Full interview in Tuesday’s JEP.
