Eddie Jones is the only person to blame for woeful results, says Sir Clive Woodward

[ASFN Admin]

Sir Clive Woodward has called upon the Rugby Football Union to hold “all-powerful” Eddie Jones to account after England’s head coach oversaw a 32-18 loss to Ireland in Dublin. Woodward, who led England to World Cup glory in 2003, also suggested that Jones had not held a thorough appraisal following the 32-12 defeat by South Africa in the 2019 World Cup final. He branded that a “massive mistake” that has led to the side “going backwards at a rate of knots”. Ireland v England ratings: Mako Vunipola's ill-discipline again costly “I think this has been coming since the World Cup final,” Woodward told ITV Sport. “I still don’t think there was a real debrief since England’s loss to South Africa – everyone was still carried away with the New Zealand game [in the semi-final]. “A no-show in the World Cup final, and it’s never been properly taken apart – what actually happened, what’s gone on? I just get the feeling that Eddie and the team thought: ‘We’re a youngish team, we’re going to win it in four years’ time’. “That’s a massive mistake. International rugby is game by game by game. The moment you don’t see things going well, you have to make various changes.” Woodward stopped short of calling upon Jones to step down, and said that the team “was not past its shelf-life”, but stressed that a “refresh” was required. “For Eddie, the coach, this is time to look in the mirror. The only person to blame is yourself. You don’t look through the window and blame other people, the press or the media. “You look in the mirror and say: ‘We’ve got to start again now, two years from the [2023] World Cup’.” “I just don’t know who is there at Twickenham to question Eddie because he seems to be “all-powerful”,” added Woodward following another ill-disciplined England performance. “After this game, he needs to be questioned. What are you doing, how can you give away 14 penalties? You need some straight answers. [Otherwise] at best, you will tread water or go backwards. “And we are going backwards. We’re going backwards at a rate of knots at the minute.” Ireland captain Johnny Sexton, who punished England by kicking 22 points including six penalties, saluted a “brilliant” performance from the hosts. Jones himself admitted that England had been affected by a poor first half in which Ireland scored tries through Keith Earls and Jack Conan. “We thought we started well,” he said. “The first few minutes were nip and tuck. Then a couple of things went well [for them]. We allowed that to get to them, dropped our intensity and Ireland established a winning lead. “We still know where we’re going,” Jones added defiantly. “As disappointed as I am with the result, we’ll continue in a positive fashion.”

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