England rugby coach Eddie Jones praises Tony Pulis's 'refreshing' coaching techniques

The national team chief visited Albion’s training ground in Walsall on Thursday to get a closer look at how Pulis drills his players.

And he was impressed with what he saw both on the training pitch and in the sports science department.

“The approach of West Bromwich Albion brought me here,” said Jones. “They're not one of the big clubs in terms of finance so they have to be very creative in how they prepare the players.

"We're always looking for new ways to prepare the players better and there's a nice balance here between the sports science department and the coaching department. The club's doing a great job in maximising the resources they have."

Jones’s visit comes a few months after England manager Gareth Southgate visited the training ground to share tactics with Pulis.

And the rugby coach, who is known to be a drill-sergeant himself on the training pitch, felt akin with the Baggies boss.

“His ability to get the most out of his team is just fantastic,” said Jones. "I enjoyed the way he coached. He was out on the field barking instructions and demanding the best from his players. It was good to see a coach in action leading the tactical drive of the team.

“Sometimes you go to football clubs and the head coach doesn't do a lot of coaching. It's really refreshing to see Tony out there driving the players to be at their best."

Jones asked to visit the Baggies to develop his own coaching methods, but the Australian hopes he helped Pulis too.

"It's always good to exchange ideas," said Jones. "In a lot of ways there are similarities between the two sports.

"We're both trying to find space, we're both trying to get the best out of the players and we need that to be physical, mental and social."