Former Fiji Sevens coach Ben Ryan says England could have benefitted from playing regularly against the All Blacks.

England have yet to face New Zealand under coach Eddie Jones, with the sides set to clash at Twickenham in November. However, Ryan told The Times that it may be too late.

‘They are very one-dimensional in attack and could have done with playing the All Blacks to have a reality check and stop the plaudits without looking at the performances,’ Ryan said.

He added that Jones is a ‘world-class’ coach but said England ‘don’t seem to play with enough joy’ under him.

‘If I was director of rugby at the right club and had control to put the right people in place, there’d be a real opportunity to put skill back at the top of the agenda and play the game differently to how everyone else is playing at the moment.

‘Plenty of teams have created a very good environment, like Exeter and Saracens, but watch Exeter and they’re playing 40 phases. I want players to be looking to make a break and score off the first phase.’

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