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Serious backlash over Eddie Jones' 'disparaging' Lions comments
The Six Nations may be over, but that does not mean that Eddie Jones has slunk out of the limelight.
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The outspoken England head coach has once again riled up his closest rivals by ruling himself out of contention for the 2021 British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa.
He was quite dismissive of the role, describing it as an “ambassador job”, in what can be seen as another dig at his rival Warren Gatland.
However, just as they had throughout the Six Nations, many fans from the home nations have not taken kindly to Jones’ comments. Many fans have said that they would not want him as coach of the Lions, as he is has increasingly become an unpopular figure amongst Welsh, Scottish and Irish fans. Moreover, many fans feel that he would not have been considered for the job, and has effectively ruled himself out rather than being rejected.
https://twitter.com/arwyn_evans/status/1110489371243958272
This is like a wee 59-year old guy ruling himself out of a night of passion with Beyoncé https://t.co/7bq0z2ia9E
— Tom English (@TEnglishSport) March 26, 2019
He would never have been in the running anyway.
— Lee AW ???????? ?????? (@LWaunfawr) March 26, 2019
https://twitter.com/tomjamesCardiff/status/1110444453200830464
I’d as much chance of coaching the Lions in 2021 as Eddie but like him I’ve decided to rule myself out of taking charge. ?
— Mark Smith (@jaggo2210) March 26, 2019
https://twitter.com/WilhelmVonJones/status/1110467982512279552
How very sad that he's ruled himself out (knowing it’d never be offered to him anyway) The guy is a disrespectful clown, typical Aussie sporting mentality basically.
— Jason Maksimovic (@JasonMaxi) March 26, 2019
He wouldn't get the job anyway! ?
— Nathan Barrett (@nathanbarrett76) March 26, 2019
That means he knows he wouldn’t get the job ??
— Kevin Belcher (@Kev10Belcher) March 26, 2019
Not sure the Lions would want Eddie Jones "to spend eight weeks in a blazer." Surprised he hasn't had another pop at Wales. while he was at it.
— Andrew Baldock (@balders2) March 26, 2019
Some fans have also highlighted the fact that he is not good enough to coach the Lions anyway, which is understandable. Had Jones made these comments in 2016 or 2017, where he had coached England to back to back Six Nations titles and a record 18-match winning streak, he would have been in a better position.
Now that England have faltered over the past year, Jones’ chances of coaching the Lions have significantly decreased, with many fans favouring Gatland over the Australian. Should Gatland choose to coach the Lions again, he would undoubtedly be the favourite, having won in Australia in 2013, and managed a historic draw against New Zealand in 2017.
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Gatland better anyway
— Coach K. (@Kuntchi13) March 26, 2019
https://twitter.com/davidallan999/status/1110442109696385024
https://twitter.com/D_E_80/status/1110447019364098048
https://twitter.com/L17Mac/status/1110448607541542912
Ultimately, the thing that has riled a lot of fans up, and may well be the crux of the issue, is that this is disrespectful towards the Lions. Whether Jones would be in contention or not is irrelevant compared to the way that he has besmirched one of rugby’s most unique and proudest traditions.
Jones has a history of controversial comments, and this will certainly not be the last time he finds himself in hot water, but he may have overstepped the mark this time with some fans.
Carwyn James, Syd Millar, Sir Ian Mcheeghan, Warren Gatland et al… were some ambassadors then.
— Phil Steele (@philsteele1) March 26, 2019
The guy has no respect for what the lions are all about.
No wonder nobody likes him. ?
— ??? ?????? (@LeeJarvis10) March 26, 2019
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Ambassador and Eddie don't exactly sound right together anyway. He is an absolute disgrace and hope @EnglandRugby also release a statement distancing themselves from his comments
— Dr Dai Samuel (@docdai) March 26, 2019
https://twitter.com/phillipstaffy/status/1110490262780997632
Comments on RugbyPass
Beautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
4 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to comments