Sunday 20 November 2016 22:33, UK
Eddie Jones rates George Ford above world player of the year winner Beauden Barrett, but insists England's fly-half must become more selfish.
Ford produced the most assured performance of his 27 caps as Fiji were overwhelmed 58-15 at Twickenham on Saturday, his vision, timing and variety of passing instrumental in a nine-try rout that extended his team's winning run to 12 Tests.
Jones believes the next phase of the Bath star's development will be to provide a greater running threat believing that he has the potential to eclipse Barrett, the New Zealand playmaker who was crowned World Rugby's player of the year last weekend.
"I think George can be better than Beauden Barrett - no doubt about that," Jones said.
"People rave about Beauden Barrett but I don't. I don't want to go into it any more than that. I'll leave it at that.
"I don't pick the Player of the Year but I always thought Barrett would get it because the Kiwis run everything. When you run everything, you've got a good chance of winning it.
"George probably now feels a sense of security and I think he enjoys the sort of rugby we're trying to play. He's got a beautiful skill-set.
"He's got a great feel for the game. He sees opportunities. He needs to work on his running game a bit, which we will work on. He needs to be more of a threat himself.
"He's actually too selfless. He needs to be a bit more selfish with the ball at times and he will start to develop that in his game."
Ford's outstanding distribution identified him as the undisputed ringmaster at Twickenham on Saturday, but the 23-year-old is aware that he must add to his array of skills if he is to fulfil his potential.
"You always want to be a threat yourself. The way we play, you need numbers around you and guys running lines off you," Ford said.
"Eddie challenges me on my alignment - when to be flatter and when to be deeper. I think that comes with experience but also it's dependent on the ruck speed and speed of ball.
"If it's quick, you can flatten up and go at the line a little bit more and if it's slower, then you can't be as flat and that's a challenge for us as a back line."
South Africa and Fiji have been swept aside so far this autumn, leaving Argentina and Australia as the final hurdles to be overcome before England's record 14-Test triumphant sequence can be equalled.
The victory over the Pacific Islanders marked the first-year anniversary of Jones' reign to the day and - while it has been a near-faultless procession for the Australian - he is aware that fortunes can change quickly.
"It's always fun when you are winning. Our big test is when you lose a game," Jones said.
"We're not frightened of losing, we don't want to lose a game, but we know if we do, we will learn a lot from it. It's all part of sport, it's all part of developing a team.
"No one wins at 100 per cent - not even the All Blacks, the Chicago Bulls didn't, Barcelona don't, Real Madrid don't. It's impossible with sport because you are dealing with people.
"You are going to have days when you are a little but off and the other mob is a little bit on - so you are going to get beaten."