RFU backs Jones despite England’s poor Six Nations finish

LONDON: England coach Eddie Jones has the backing of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) despite their worst Six Nations performance in 35 years, the governing body’s chief executive Steve Brown said on Wednesday.

Ireland beat outgoing champions England 24-15 at Twickenham last weekend to seal the grand slam while Jones’ team were left to reflect on a dismal campaign that saw them finish fifth.

However, Brown suggested that Jones, who signed a two- year contract extension in January, was still the right man to lead the team into the World Cup next year.

“Eddie and his coaches have my confidence and the measure of how good they are and can be will be how they respond to these tough times,” Brown said.

“The results in the Six Nations weren’t what we wanted, not what we expected and there is no attempt by us to dress this up,” he added.

After wins against Italy and Wales in their opening two rounds, England were beaten by Scotland, France and Ireland – the first time they have lost three in a row in the championship for 12 years.

“We wanted to do significantly better and we didn’t,” Brown said. We are disappointed with the decline, no question about that. Nobody would want to go from winning the Six Nations to fifth.

“We will learn from this and make sure it doesn’t happen again. No one is patting each other on the back, they’re looking for solutions to put us back to where we were before.

“We were motoring pretty well. We have hit a bit of a bump and now is the time to regroup, reassess and get back on track.”

The next challenge for England is a three- match tour of South Africa in June followed by home games against the Springboks and New Zealand in November. — Reuters