Jones admits England’s future is out of his hands

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Eddie Jones admits that his future lies in the hands of Twickenham, but the head coach remains convinced that he is the right man to lead England to the next World Cup.

A fifth place sealed by Saturday’s 32-18 loss to Ireland completed a grim Six Nations that has put Jones’ reign under intense scrutiny.

Rugby Football Union’s regular post-championship review will begin in the next few days without a set deadline for completion.

The PA news agency understands that Jones will be evaluated on his historic achievements as well as the outcome of the tournament, and his success in charting a route out of a similar slump in 2018 will strengthen his position.

“Our coaching team and leadership team will review our performance in the Six Nations and we know that the England team will continue to grow and learn from this,” said a Rugby Football Union spokesperson.

England finished second last in this year’s Six Nations

Senior players Maro Itoje, Mako Vunipola and Jonny May have been emphatically supportive of the Australians, insisting that it is the players who should be held accountable for the reverse Triple Crown of losses to Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

When asked if he is the right man to lead England forward, Jones replied “that’s for other people to answer, not for me to answer,” but added that he is “100%” sure he can play the role and than the Six Nations. The result hadn’t made him question himself.

“Everyone has a voice and I’m sure they are angry. We hope to win and we hope to play better than we did,” Jones said in addressing the fans’ frustration.

“Nobody is more disappointed than the team and us with what happened and the fans have a right to be disappointed. We are devastated.”

England entered the Six Nations as champions after compiling an eight-round winning streak that also secured the Fall Nations Cup, but the cracks were already apparent as performances did not match the results.

“Unfortunately, I thought we were ready for a period like this. Every team goes through that,” Jones said.

“International rugby, particularly at the Six Nations level, you get to a certain stage and success weakens you a bit. You have to fight against that.

“It’s hard to be at the top of the tree all the time. So the team goes through cycles of success and cycles of failure and I think that’s a normal part of the sport.”

“I knew a difficult period was coming, because we have had a good run, we have won games that we probably should not have won.”

“And you get to the other side of the ledger where you lose games that you should have won and it becomes difficult. We are in that period now.”

May is one of several team members vigorously backing Jones and the Gloucester wing admits that Saturday’s moderate outing in Dublin will leave lasting scars.

“As players, we will raise our hands because we go to the games well prepared, with a good game plan, good understanding,” May said.

“Tactically, physically and mentally we are very well prepared. We have the best players, the personnel resources, the players I feel. This is about the players, so we have to fix it.”

“There are moments in the games that almost take a bit of your soul away. And they sit down with you. This campaign has been as tough as it sounds.

“I have felt quite bad throughout the process because it has been hard. That is positive because I care and the team cares. It means a lot to us.”

“I’m sorry we couldn’t make the people at home happy who look at us and hope we win. And I’m sorry.”



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