Eddie Jones' England fate may already be sealed
Many news sources in the UK are reporting that England head coach Eddie Jones appears to be set to be axed when he faces a formal review on Monday.
According to Chris Foy in the Daily Mail, Jones himself now expects to be sacked at the meeting following a dismal Autumn Nation Series for England in which they won just one game. 2022 has been the worst year for England Rugby at Test level since 2008 and it comes after two years of see-sawing fortunes for the men on white since they contested the Rugby World Cup final in Japan.
Gavin Mairs and Ben Coles report in The Telegraph that Leicester Tigers’ head coach Steve Borthwick – Jones’ former forwards coach – as favourite to take over the reins.
Other reports earlier this week had named Chiefs director of rugby Warren Gatland as in the front runner for the Australian’s job , although he also appears to be in the running for Wayne Pivac’s job, should the New Zealander be given his marching orders by the WRU.
Jones’ strained relationship with RFU CEO Bill Sweeney will certainly not help matters. On Thursday Sweeney reportedly received an apology from Jones’ media advisor after a serious allegation attacking the England rugby chief was written in the comments section at the bottom of an online Times UK article that was published earlier this week.
Sweeney admitted “results are not where we expect them to be” and Sir Clive Woodward, who masterminded England’s solitary World Cup win 19 years ago, was yet again fierce in his criticism of his old rival Jones after the match.
Woodward labelled rugby in England as a shambles and insisted the weekend defeat was “one of the most depressing games I’ve seen at HQ”.
Jones, who has already agreed to step down after the 2023 World Cup in France, told Men’s Health UK: “I feel sad for him (Woodward). If that is the best thing he has to do in his life, then he hasn’t a lot to do.”
The pair’s rivalry stretches back a long way, with Woodward having coached England to their World Cup final win in 2003 over Australia, then led by Jones, after a tournament in which they sniped at each other.
“I’m 62 now and in pure coaching terms I am coaching better than I ever have. Results aren’t always perfect, but I’m happy with how I have been coaching,” Jones said. “After this, I want to do something really meaningful. I’ve enjoyed England a lot, it was a bit of a rescue job at the start, now rebuilding, and I am confident I will leave things in good shape.”
England were booed off at Twickenham after defeat to the Springboks, which meant their record for 2022 finished at five wins, one draw and six losses.
Scotland, Ireland, France, Australia, Argentina and South Africa have all beaten the World Cup runners-up during the past 12 months but Jones believes they can still be a force at next year’s tournament.
Currently the fifth favourites to lift the Webb Ellis Cup, England will avoid the front-runners until the semi-final stage, with one of Australia, Wales or Fiji a probable last-eight opponent in France.
“If this was the Cheltenham Gold Cup, there’s a pack of four out front – France, Ireland, South Africa, New Zealand – and we are fifth, right behind them, right on the rails,” Jones said.
“A good position, provided we keep improving.
In his column for RugbyPass this week, former World Cup winner Jake White, who himself faced calls for his job back in 2006, believes that the end of the road has come for his former coaching colleague.
“The RFU need to make a decision. My gut feeling is he is in trouble. If the World Cup wasn’t less than a year away, he’d be gone,” wrote White. “That is a fact. If the World Cup was two years away, he’d be out of there. If the board don’t act and England have a poor Six Nations, they will come under serious fire for not acting earlier. The voices for change are becoming louder and louder.”
The sentiment on Twitter is little better for Jones, although a few voices are supporting Jones’ staying on in the roll despite his recent run of poor results.
“Ngl [Not going to lie] the biased Welsh fan in me really hopes England do get rid of Eddie Jones,” wrote Will Owen. “He’s a cut above virtually any other coach in the entire sport, and crucial to their chances of winning a RWC. He just doesn’t give a shit about any other tournaments.”
Ngl the biased Welsh fan in me really hopes England do get rid of Eddie Jones. He’s a cut above virtually any other coach in the entire sport, and crucial to their chances of winning a RWC. He just doesn’t give a shit about any other tournaments.
— Will Owen (@will_owen9) December 2, 2022
All eyes will on Twickenham this week. Jones will face the music on Monday and the RFU panel will confirm the decision on Tuesday.
additional reporting AAP
Comments on RugbyPass
The shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
56 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to comments