'Imagine having the CEO mic'd up at an RFU Council meeting, that's what I want to see mate!'

England games against Georgia, Ireland, Wales and their final match at Twickenham are to be shown on Amazon, the online giant’s first foray into rugby, and Eddie Jones has mischievously claimed he is going to pitch a novel Autumn Nations Cup idea to them. Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney suggested recently that coaches could in the future be fitted with microphones to enhance viewer experience and but Jones has hit back at his boss. 

“Imagine having the CEO mic’d up at an RFU Council meeting, that’s what I want to see mate!” said the England head coach said. “I’m going to pitch that to Amazon, it’s a great idea. I’m serious! Dead serious. You want good television? Imagine that, it would be fantastic!

“All I worry about is coaching, I’m not an entrepreneur. But if they ask or tell me to do it, and they need it, and it would help support grass roots rugby then I’d do it. But I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

Here’s the debut episode of RugbyPod Offload, the new podcast featuring Dylan Hartley, Jamie Roberts, Simon Zebo and Ryan Wilson

Here’s the debut episode of RugbyPod Offload, the new podcast featuring Dylan Hartley, Jamie Roberts, Simon Zebo and Ryan Wilson

Meanwhile, hooker Jamie George has sought advice from cricketers Sam Billings and Zak Crawley as England’s rugby team prepare to enter their own Covid-secure bubble. 

Hello! We’re delighted to announce the Autumn Nations Cup! This brand new tournament will give fans 16 top class internationals to enjoy over four action packed weekends in November and December!

Fixtures ? pic.twitter.com/D7VHd630am

— Autumn Nations Series (@autumnnations) September 10, 2020

For an end-of-year campaign that wraps up the 2020 Six Nations and continues with the Autumn Nations Cup, which is the tournament Amazon will show, Jones’ England squads will complete blocks of two weeks in camp separated by brief trips home to see family.

England’s cricketers have operated in a similar environment throughout the summer, prompting George to consult his friends for guidance on how best to approach the experience.

“Myself and Sam catch up quite a bit and I played golf with Zak Crawley relatively recently,” the Saracens hooker said. “We are slightly different to the cricketers because we cannot go into each other’s rooms, so that adds a different challenge to what they had.

“And we’re very much around the coffee culture. The cricketers were able to get an F1 driving simulator into their team room which we have not got, but we do have a gaming facility.

“Sam loved it because he got to sit on the PlayStation and drink coffee in each others’ rooms the entire time, so it was pretty happy days. He said that you need to look out for each other. They certainly had some really great days but some others when it was raining and weren’t allowed out.

“He highly recommended that we get out on the golf course and that’s an ongoing discussion at the minute, whether we can get out there. I’m massively in favour of that and, as long as we’re allowed to, I’ll be out there.

Putting Queen and country before latte ???????? https://t.co/meheLjGWP3

— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 7, 2020

“It was interesting to hear their experiences. There are going to be highs and lows in this campaign, especially when you are in the bubble.

“Some days a lack of contact will get to people, but at the same time we are a close-knit group and will be very aware we need to be looking out for each other when the potentially difficult times come.”