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Eddie who? No place for Jones in Twickers media room

By AAP
Owen Farrell - PA

Eddie Jones may have had the best win percentage of any England coach, led the team to a Six Nations grand slam and a World Cup final – but the Australian has been quietly erased from the RFU’s England rugby media collage at Twickenham.

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One wall of the stadium’s media workroom has long boasted a splendid collection of newspaper front pages, with the 2003 World Cup triumph taking pride of place.

At the end of last year, it also featured several snapshots of Jones’ highlights, including England’s clean sweep series win in Australia in 2016 and their superb World Cup semi-final victory over New Zealand in 2019.

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However, reporters arriving for Saturday’s Six Nations opener against Scotland were greeted by some “revisions”.

England greats Jonny Wilkinson and Martin Johnson are still in place but instead of Jones there are new pieces celebrating referee Wayne Barnes, the England women’s team, a new community rugby initiative and Jones’s replacement Steve Borthwick.

Jones was sacked by England in December and took over as Australia coach last month – and it may well have been a good thing for the home scribes not to see Eddie’s smiling face after the home side had been beaten 29-23 by the Scots.

Jones England RFU claim
(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
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Borthwick’s tenure at England got off to worst possible start. Duhan van der Merwe has scored an early challenger for try of the tournament and also went over for the match-clincher as Scotland beat England 29-23 in the Six Nations to continue their recent Calcutta Cup dominance.

The winger’s 75th-minute try in the left corner sealed a fourth victory in Scotland’s last six matches against its ‘auld enemy’, ruining the first game in charge of England for new coach Steve Borthwick.

It proved an historic day for the Scots, marked the first time they’ve secured back-to-back wins at Twickenham in rugby’s oldest international fixture that dates to 1871.

But it was Van der Merwe’s first try — scored in the 29th minute after setting off from inside his own half — that illuminated an error-riddled and often chaotic match at Twickenham between teams who mixed flashes of brilliance with enough failings to explain their status as outsiders for the title.

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Van der Merwe burst through England’s defensive line and shrugged off five would-be tacklers — including two weak efforts near the tryline — to go over for a sensational try.

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“As a winger you don’t get a lot of opportunities to score so I needed to take them,” he said. “I was quite surprised how I got my first but I will take that one all day long.”

Huw Jones set Scotland on their way with a 15th-minute try from Australian-born Sione Tuipulotu’s grubber kick, only for England to reply with two tries by winger Max Malins in the first half and another from prop Ellis Genge after halftime.

England were their own worst enemies in their first game of the post-Eddie Jones era as they sought to eke out victory in the second half.

A dropped restart after Genge’s try in the 49th minute gave Scotland the platform to reply through a try from Ben White — via a missed tackle by England flanker Ben Curry — to leave the boys in blue only 20-19 behind.

Owen Farrell’s penalty made it 23-19 but, again, England’s errors allowed Finn Russell to boot his own penalty to trail 23-2 2 and give Scotland hope.

< p>Van der Merwe made the English pay with a winning try as he cut in off the left wing and through two challengers to score.

There remains plenty to fix for Borthwick, who has taken charge after England’s seven years under Jones and with eight months to go until the World Cup.

“This is the first game of a new coach and campaign,” England lock Maro Itoje said. “We wanted a win and fell short. We have to stay positive.

“We are ultimately disappointed — we just weren’t good enough. Fair play to Scotland. There were a few things we got wrong as a team but we can fix them.”

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Jon 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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