Rugby

Eddie Jones digs in as pressure continues to build

“All I need to do is my job and I do my job as well as I can every day”

Eddie Jones speaks to the media in South Africa on Monday. Photograph: David Rogers/Getty Images

Mon Jun 18 2018 - 15:43

Eddie Jones came out fighting after being backed by the Rugby Football Union following Saturday's defeat by South Africa. England's 23-12 test defeat in Bloemfontein was their fifth in a row and Jones has been under mounting pressure during his side's summer tour.

“I don’t need any dialogue with the RFU,” Jones told Sky Sports News. “All I need to do is my job and I do my job as well as I can every day. I love the team. I love coaching the team. I’m excited about where we’re going to go. I realise this is a tough time and that our fans and supporters will be disappointed but all I can assure you is we’re doing everything we can, every minute of the day, to turn this team around.”

Jones said ill-discipline and a lack of “emotional control” had undermined England’s chances during both defeats to South Africa.

“We’ve lacked some discipline,” he said. “I think the penalty count is 30-14 for the tour so far and we haven’t taken opportunities. We’ve missed two or three clear try-scoring opportunities and we just lack a bit of emotional control in the side, which is a hallmark of a young team.”

READ MORE

England had not lost five successive Test matches since 2014 before Saturday’s defeat but Jones insists his players will learn from the experience.

“I’ve been in many of these [situations] and I knew it was always going to come for England,” he said. “You’re always going to have a difficult run. Every team I’ve been in that’s been successful, we’ve had a difficult run like this. Sometimes you need these periods to learn from, to cement those errors as things you don’t want to do again. We’re getting some hard lessons at the moment.”

LATEST STORIES