'Not fit for purpose': Eddie Jones accused of gaslighting as England's loss leaves fans furious
England’s catastrophic start to the Autumn Nations Series has been ridiculed online after falling to Argentina 30-29 at Twickenham.
Owen Farrell led Eddie Jones’ side out for the Autumn Nations Series opener in a much vaunted midfield trio alongside fly-half Marcus Smith and Manu Tuilagi at 13.
Despite the pre-game hype, England looked abject in attack, with little more than route one carrying from the Tuilagi and Bath wing Joe Cokanasiga to rely on for any momentum, while relying on 33-year-old scrum-half Ben Youngs appears to be misguided.
The lack of line-breaking ability has afflicted this England side for much of 2022, with multiple midfield combinations failing to click.
Former England flyhalf and RugbyPass columnist Andy Goode blasted England’s misfiring attack, posting: “England looked lethargic and lost at times in attack, fair play to Argentina they took their chances well and scored a try worthy of victory in any game. Cheika gets his first win over Eddie Jones too.”
England looked lethargic and lost at times in attack, fair play to Argentina they took their chances well and scored a try worthy of victory in any game. Cheika gets his first win over Eddie Jones too
— Andy Goode (@AndyGoode10) November 6, 2022
English journalist and RugbyPass contributor Chris Jones wrote: “So England Rugby lose 30-29 to UAR at home and Eddie Jones says there are too many penalties in the game. He’s right and many given away by dumb play from his players.”
So @EnglandRugby lose 30-29 to @unionargentina at home and Eddie Jones says there are too many penalties in the game. He’s right and many given away by dumb play from his players
— chris jones (@chrisjonespress) November 6, 2022
Rugby Paper journalist Neil Fisler questioned the wisdom of keeping Jones on, suggested he should have been binned off long ago. “Eddie Jones should have been removed as England coach a long time ago. Surely we aren’t going to let him stay until after the World Cup.”
Eddie Jones should have been removed as England coach a long time ago. Surely we aren’t going to let him stay until after the World Cup.
— Neil Fissler (@neilfissler) November 6, 2022
England fans were less reserved with their assessments labelling it ‘atrocious’, ‘appalling display’ and a ‘snooze fest’.
Eddie Jones was called out for ‘gas lighting’ over misleading England fans as the standard of play has dropped over his tenure despite his insistance that progress is being made.
Another angry punter wrote: “That was a pathetic performance from England. Atrocious handling, no conviction around the ruck, inaccurate in the set piece, and the same idiotic tendency to haemorrhage penalties. Youngs really needs to be forcibly retired. Smith needs rapid service.”
That was a pathetic performance from England. Atrocious handling, no conviction around the ruck, inaccurate in the set piece, and the same idiotic tendency to haemorrhage penalties. Youngs really needs to be forcibly retired. Smith needs rapid service. #ENGvARG
— Oliver Smiddy (@OSmid) November 6, 2022
Appalling display no flair no passion no skill Youngs Cokanasiga Vunipola not fit for purpose Eddie Jones not fit for purpose he has to go embarrassing #ENGvARG
— lindylou (@lindadillon17) November 6, 2022
In all my years of watching @EnglandRugby today was the first time I’ve left the stadium early. Old guard need clearing out and Eddie Jones gone. Too many handling errors and penalties in kickable positions. Well done Argentina. #ENGvARG pic.twitter.com/lzguevyP17
— MMG 🇬🇧🇺🇦🇬🇧🇺🇦🇬🇧🇺🇦 (@MAMGoodlet) November 6, 2022
Man that was a very deflated Twickenham crowd 😱🤦♂️ very unusual for a England game. Throughout the entire match #ENGvARG #AutumnNationsSeries pic.twitter.com/jGCxBCqGLI
— Martin Hider (@hiderman101) November 6, 2022
Dear @rugby_eddie please, please, please realise that you’re destroying our team and let someone who knows modern tactics take over. #RFU #EnglandRugby #ENGvARG
— Dave Fassam (@Mcfazza2) November 6, 2022
England back line snooze fest today. We have too much going on, too many receivers not getting the ball wide. Ben Youngs as-per giving slow ball, Vanpoortvliet had immediate impact in quality of ball. Joe, Alex, and forwards generally, had good games. #ENGvARG
— Rory Johnson (@RoryJohnson2602) November 6, 2022
Huge victory celebrations at Twickenham! #ENGvARG #AutumnNationsSeries pic.twitter.com/YwIp2sN93t
— The East Terrace (@theeastterrace) November 6, 2022
Great win for Argentina. England have been dire to watch for ages. No idea why they stick with their coach #ENGvARG
— Richard Kolk (@RichardKolk39) November 6, 2022
I never fully understood what the oft-abused term ‘gaslighting’ meant…
Until Eddie Jones convinced the English Rugby public not to believe the evidence of their own eyes, for years.
Shame on the useless, complicit English journalists callowly acquiescing.#ENGvARG https://t.co/xq1QybZXm3
ADVERTISEMENT— Stephen Wall (@StephenWall1985) November 6, 2022
The only thing sadder than that England performance was the twickenham experience. No atmosphere, no silence for kickers and a constant stream to & from the bar throughout game as per. So many places do it better. Why don’t we? Complacent. Whole approach needs rethink #ENGvARG
— Louis Freeman (@LouFreeman92) November 6, 2022
In his post-match comments on Amazon Prime, head coach Eddie Jones said he couldn’t pinpoint what went wrong and lamented the lack of cohesion in his side.
“Losing always hurts. It was one of those games, the lead changed a lot,” he said.
“You can’t put your finger on what went wrong. Structurally we had control of the game but we kept making fundamental mistakes and easy errors.
“We have no excuses, the referee, the pitch was the same for both teams. They got the points at the right time. We lacked cohesion.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Very unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to commentsIt’s the massive value he brings with regard team culture/values, preparation, etc. Can’t buy that. I’m hoping to see the young locks get their chance in the big games though.
10 Go to commentsAll good, Gregor, except that you neglected to mention Sam Darry amongst that talented pool of locks. In fact, given Hannah’s inexperience and the fact that Holland won’t be eligible until next year, Lord and Darry might be the frontrunners this year, to join Barrett, Tuipoluto, Va’ii and possibly Whitelock. In fact there might be room for all of them if Barrett played 6 (like Ollie Chessum).
10 Go to comments