England's 5 worst performances under Eddie Jones
England were dealt a severe blow in their Guinness Six Nations championship hopes with a 24-17 opening loss to France in Paris on Sunday.
Here, the PA news agency looks at five of England’s worst displays during Eddie Jones’ tenure.
England 38 Italy 15 (Six Nations, February 2017)
England, the Grand Slam champions, trailed 10-5 at half-time, brought about by their inability to adapt to Italy’s crafty refusal to form rucks. The tactics proved unsettling and, even when the Red Rose threatened to power clear with tries from Danny Care and Elliot Daly shortly after the interval, Conor O’Shea’s men refused to wave the white flag with Michele Campagnaro crossing to set up a tense final quarter. But their resistance was eventually broken through touchdowns from Ben Te’o and Jack Nowell in the last 10 minutes, adding an undeserved gloss to England’s win against the 100-1 underdogs.
WATCH: Press conference with England head coach Eddie Jones and captain Owen Farrell after their side’s 24-17 loss to France. in their Guinness Six Nations opener at the Stade de France
Scotland 25 England 13 (Six Nations, February 2018)
Scotland registered their first victory over England in a decade with a conclusive 25-13 defeat of Jones’ side. The Scots had waited 14 years to score a Calcutta Cup try at Murrayfield and, when it finally arrived, it was the first of three as England were run ragged. A 22-6 lead had been compiled by Scotland at half-time, and although Owen Farrell crossed early after the interval it would prove a lone shot in a painful defeat.
South Africa 42 England 39 (First Test, June 2018)
England’s blistering start gave way to a dramatic collapse in the first Test at Ellis Park. A scarcely believable 24-3 lead had been amassed by the 18th minute as Mike Brown, Elliot Daly and Farrell ran in superb tries. But the match turned on its head when Faf de Klerk orchestrated a stunning first-half comeback supported by the brilliance of Willie Le Roux, while S’busiso Nkosi crossed twice to allow South Africa to take a 29-27 half-time lead. Aphiwe Dyantyi then went over for the hosts, and two Handre Pollard penalties meant scores from Maro Itoje and Jonny May were not enough.
South Africa 32 England 12 (World Cup final, November 2019)
England were stunned by South Africa’s relentless intensity as their World Cup quest ended with a crushing defeat in the final. England’s defence was unlocked by the speed and accuracy of a move that saw Makazole Mapimpi cross to become the first Springbok to score a try in a World Cup final. And with Jones’ men forcing their attack in desperate pursuit of an unlikely comeback win, wing Cheslin Kolbe switched on the afterburners to deliver the knockout punch with six minutes remaining.
France 24 England 17 (Six Nations, February 2020)
England began this year’s tournament as favourites but it was France who stormed into a 24-0 lead when captain Charles Ollivon ran in the second of his two tries in the 55th minute. That was the cue for May to conjure a pair of devastating solo tries, and spare Jones a humiliating defeat on French turf. But, despite May’s heroics, England lacked the firepower to make further inroads into the deficit on a desperately disappointing afternoon in Paris.
Comments on RugbyPass
A wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
24 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to comments