Eddie Jones Was Robbed at the World Rugby Awards
He masterminded one of the greatest rugby revivals of recent years. So why didn’t Eddie Jones win coach of the year? Hayden Donnell complains bitterly.
Steve Hansen just won coach of the year at the World Rugby Awards. In 2016, the All Blacks coach set a record for consecutive wins in the modern era, retained the Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championship, coaxed young talents like Ardie Savea and Anton Lienert-Brown to stardom, and somehow did it all despite exhibiting the emotional range of a plank of wood.
His win was sweet vengeance for last year’s travesty, where he lost to Michael Cheika. It was also completely unjustified and 100% wrong.
Eddie Jones should have won. When the England coach took over last November, he inherited one of the the most miserable bunch of sadsacks in history. His side had just been bundled out in the pool stage of a home World Cup, after being beaten by not one but two of their colonies. Turning that bunch of losers into the clear second-best squad in the world should go down as a rugby miracle for the ages.
[rugbypass-ad-banner id=”1475535264″]
Hansen had a much easier job. The All Blacks lost McCaw and Carter at the end of the World Cup. But both were already hollowed out husks of their younger selves; ligaments stitched together with glue and sticky tape. Carter was replaced by the newly crowned World Player of the Year; McCaw by a mixture of the very good Sam Cane, and the incredibly good Savea.
In just about every position, the All Blacks had a bevy of players ready to step up to the international game. Liam Squire. Ryan Crotty. Even Israel Dagg rose out of his Red Bull and sleeping pill-induced haze to produce one of his best years. Just about all Hansen’s reserves would walk into the starting line-ups of any other international side, as evidenced by the astounding play of TJ Perenara after Aaron Smith was ruled out with a bad case of toilet boning.
Jones had to do more with less. Chris Robshaw, who had the gaunt and haunted look of someone who’d long stopped believing in hope, was transformed into a world-beating number 6. Dylan Hartley, who used to turn up half-cut to Monday morning training and still looks like an extra on Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, somehow became an inspiring captain.
To add to the degree of difficulty, he had to deal with half his best players being injured. Thanks to the Northern Hemisphere’s 14,327-game season, England has been without Hartley, Owen Farrell, Manu Tuilagi, James Haskell, Sam Jones, Anthony Watson, and Maro Itoje at various points this year. Somehow they still got 10 wins from 10 games. That’s a better record for 2016 than Hansen’s, according to an in-depth mathematical analysis from the Rugby Pass data team. Jones executed one of the quickest rebuilds in history.
So why didn’t he win? Because he looks like an evil gremlin? Because his personality is notoriously abrasive and near-certain to get him fired one day? Whatever the reason, it’s not good enough. Jones masterminded one of the great rugby revivals. Gremlin or not, he should have something shiny to show for it.
Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
3 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
3 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
25 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
25 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
3 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
45 Go to comments