Jones insists beaten England in 'learning period'
England head coach Eddie Jones insists his side are “two to three per cent away” from where they need to be after their hopes of retaining the Six Nations title were extinguished in Paris.
After Ireland claimed a bonus point in a 28-8 victory over Scotland in Dublin, England needed to beat France later on Saturday and run in four tries to have any hope of winning a third successive crown.
However, they were duly beaten 22-16 by France, the visitors’ ill-discipline – particularly at the breakdown – proving costly as Ireland were confirmed as champions.
Having suffered only one defeat in more than two years under Jones, England have now lost back-to-back Tests, this latest setback following a 25-13 reverse at the hands of Scotland in round three.
“It’s a learning period for us,” Jones told BBC Sport. “We’re struggling with our game a little bit and we’re learning from these games, and it’s an important period for us.
“Whilst we’re all disappointed, we’re all gutted, we’ve got to make sure we learn from it and make sure we’re stronger next time we play.
16 – England conceded 16 penalties in this match against France, the most they have conceded in a match since Eddie Jones took charge. Costly. #FRAvENG
— OptaJonny (@OptaJonny) March 10, 2018
“We’re about two or three per cent away from where we need to be. We were beaten at the breakdown. We gave away 16 penalties, which is far too many, and when we got momentum we didn’t convert it to points. When they got momentum, they converted it to points.
“And it seems like [we are] a long way away, but it’s not and you go through these periods as a team. We’re going through a difficult period at the moment, but we’ll get through it.”
Jones, who refused to criticise referee Jaco Peyper for awarding France a penalty try that ultimately proved decisive, insisted he was happy with the leadership shown by England’s senior players in the absence of injured captain Dylan Hartley.
“I thought the leadership was outstanding,” he added. “We didn’t play well today, but we put ourselves back into a position where we could have won the game and probably should have won the game. We weren’t able to execute in those final minutes.”
England were denied a Grand Slam by Ireland in the final round 12 months ago, but will now seek to turn the tables on Joe Schmidt’s side at Twickenham next weekend.
Congratulations @IrishRugby ?
See you next week at Twickenham… pic.twitter.com/61ZAJbSSpG
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) March 10, 2018
“It’s an important game,” said Jones. “We’re disappointed we’re not in contention to win the tournament but we want to finish the tournament well.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Grt bench player..keep him there..
3 Go to commentsA Springbok 2-0 win: haha told you we were champions now shut up An Irish 2-0 win: the referee was under orders from world rugby to cheat us but luckily we don’t care because this is part of Rassie’s grand world Cup plan.
107 Go to commentsI hope they didn’t pay Jones fee?
2 Go to commentsTo be fair, the teams he's had to put out are reminiscent of those available to Gatland during his horrible run at the Chiefs in late 2020. Anyway, he's only got a two year contract and Wellingtonian Tamati Ellison will be ready by then, as will a lot of talented youngsters (like the Chiefs Gatland blooded). The Crusaders are planning for the long term.
5 Go to commentsGreat to see more community spending leading to higher participation in the community. It's a long road but that's a good first step.
2 Go to commentsPoetic justice for trying to sell him to Australia as another kiwi saviour coach, not ! Deans was just as bad actually but McCaw and Carter covered up for him. That’s why they didn’t want him as All Black coach, even after Graeme Henry’s bumbling effort in 2007.
5 Go to commentsSACK HIM !
5 Go to commentsSafas are so triggered by Ireland. 3 consecutive losses, incl RWC. 8 losses out of last 12 Tests. Always excuses, of course, with Bok fans. Now Rassie with his “88%” nonsense, the Claytons Excuse is an embarrassment to Bok teams of the past when every test mattered. Their fickle mojo will be on edge for the Ireland tour. Have the referees been appointed yet ? They will need security. Have WR laid out strict guidelines for TMO’s and replays on the stadium screens ? Will the constant stoppages from Bok forwards for cramps and bootlaces be tolerated ? We’re not talking a dominant Springbok team here, they won the LOTTO Cup and they know it whether they admit it or not. The Disney doco has their fans positively fermenting internally, its going to be a nasty hangover if they get beaten on home soil. What will the excuses be then……
107 Go to commentsGreat role model.
2 Go to commentsOne significant tell, not a single Waratahs player stopped to whinge to the ref about Finau’s tackle. They got on with playing the game. Great tackle.
8 Go to commentsWouldn’t be a bad move if Ireland pulled into SA with a young side. Particularly in Pretoria. Invaluable experience getting thumped in the bosveld.
107 Go to commentsIreland. The Princess Diana of Rugby. I never cheered so much for a team as i did for the All Blacks in that QF.
107 Go to commentsWill be great to see the Leinster first XV back in action again after their cotton wool time…
1 Go to commentsLooked up Grant Constable on google and reply was doppelgänger for Ben Smith
107 Go to commentsIt is so good that we now all get excited and debate who is best and emotionally get involved. We all back our teams which is great. Up until about 15-20 years ago, NZ was basically on its own, and then Saffa, Aussie and sometimes French and English were there. We now have at least 5-6 really top sides and another 4 who keep improving. This is so healthy. So we should not resort to rubbish comments and unhealthy debate, but rather all be chuffed that the product we watch is not competitive, exciting and often uncertain. It would be so good if World Rugger could find a way to align the rules to professional players as well as spectators. Live rugby games are SO boring as there is SO much down time as we wait for refs and TMOs and whoever else to look at every small event going back endless phases with the hope of eventually find a minute infringement to then decide cancel what was a wonderful try. This is the ultimate cork back in the bottle moment and feels like every balloon is always being popped. Come on- we must be better with the rules.
107 Go to comments“upon leaving said establishment I tripped over a stool knocking some bottles into the air and as I fell I accidently dislodged a police officer’s teaser who was passing by on an unrelated matter there by landing on said taser which caused it to discharge 50,000 watts into me. Out of shock I shouted Ireland are going to win the world cup. Upon waking up I apologised for the distress caused by my Ireland comment. The matter is closed. If you wish to pursue this matter may I remind you what I told Wayne Barnes when he sent me off. I AM A BIG ASS MAN”. Or was it “I AM A BIG ASS, MAN” or was it “I AM A BIG ASSMAN”?
2 Go to commentsThe only championship the Boks hold are: Great value for the incompetence of referees during the RWC Moaning endlessly and champions of spewing utterly ignorant 💩 at all times. Displaying the dangers of a third world education End of.
107 Go to commentsSouth Africa and Rassie do a phenomenal job of treating the 4 years in between World Cups as nothing more than a training exercise to build squad depth. The Six Nations money that keeps Irish rugby afloat is unfortunately too important to allow the same approach, and basic population size means we'll never get close to matching the depth of South Africa, England and France. That being said, Irish rugby is in a relatively good place and slowly improving inch by inch. If the other three provinces can pull the finger out and actually develop some players it'd be even better.
107 Go to commentsGood on Clarke for taking on the criticism and addressing his deficiencies, principally his laziness.
3 Go to comments“It is the people’s favourite against the actual favourite. It is the people’s champions against the actual champions. I’m joking, but it’s going to be a fantastic series.” Why did Darcy make that joke knowing it would be used as click bait? Why did RP headline it as a serious comment? Anyway, the tired comment isn’t very astute. SA players may have played more games etc. Darcy over estimated as a pundit.
107 Go to comments