Jones tells England to make their own statement

The imprint of Stuart Lancaster’s regime is being removed from the squad’s Surrey training base by his successor as head coach, who has ordered his players to stamp their own mark on the £3.5m facility.

One of details that came to light after the failed World Cup were Schwarzenegger’s words inscribed on the changing room walls stating: “Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.”

Inspirational quotes were evident throughout the centre, which consists of an indoor pitch and extensive gym facilities, but they have fallen victim to Jones’s drive to “start afresh”.

“I’m not a big fan of his movies, so he definitely won’t be there!” said Jones at yesterday’s RBS 6 Nations launch in south-west London.

“We’re starting afresh. In a lot of ways we’ve put a new coat of paint on the place.

“The players stay at the hotel and the hotel is a nice five-star hotel. That’s where they relax. But once they step into the training centre it’s about business. So we want the players to be involved in setting up the training centre.

“They already have little projects to get on with in how they want the training centre to be, because it’s their place of work.

“The framework is there because it’s an outstanding facility. It’s world-class and we have to make sure the players maximise their time there.”

Jones replaced Lancaster in the wake of England’s failure to advance from the group stage of their home World Cup and his reign begins in earnest against Scotland at Murrayfield on February 6.

The 55-year-old accepts, however, that the wave of optimism that has greeted his appointment has a limited lifespan and compares the relationship with his players to a “marriage”.

“When you first get married, you go on honeymoon, but honeymoon is not like real life. Anyone who is married knows that,” Jones said.

“Married life is tough. You have to take, you have to give and make compromises. You have to work out a way to make things happen.

“When I stand up in the team room for the first time, everyone is nodding and saying ‘yes, yes’. Of course they are. But I know that’s not the real situation.

“I know we’ll have our differences. We’ll work it out and find out a way to make the team successful. It’s a nice honeymoon at the moment.”

England have been installed as favourites to win the Six Nations, but Jones views Ireland and Wales as the teams to beat.

“I’ve been impressed over the last couple of years by Ireland and Wales. Ireland have played some lovely rugby under Joe Schmidt,” Jones said.

“Jonathan Sexton is a very shrewd and skilful operator at 10. The way they use their resources is very smart.

“Wales have got that uncompromising fitness aspect where they keep at you the whole time and are never out of the game. They’re the two teams, watching from afar, that have been impressive.”

Jones was accompanied at the Six Nations launch by captain Dylan Hartley, who has been appointed as Chris Robshaw’s successor despite amassing 54 weeks’ worth of suspensions for a range of offences including biting, eye-gouging and swearing at a referee. Hartley, who was unveiled as skipper on Monday, is wearying of references to his past misdemeanours.

“It’s a frustration that I’m being asked about it and having to repeat answers. It’s the same answer to you – let’s talk about the team and how motivated we are for this game,” Hartley said.

Leicester and England hooker Tom Youngs has been given a one-week ban after being found guilty of striking.

Youngs, who was not included in new England head coach Eddie Jones’s squad for the RBS 6 Nations, was shown a yellow card for punching Stade Francais prop Rabah Slimani during the Tigers’s 36-21 defeat by Stade Francais during Sunday’s European Champions Cup match.

He was subsequently cited by commissioner Peter Ferguson and had his case heard by an independent disciplinary hearing yesterday.

Youngs, who admitted committing an act of foul play, will now sit out his club’s Premiership match away at Gloucester on Saturday.