Jones’ job under fierce scrutiny

Under-fire coach Eddie Jones’ job could be under ‘‘fierce scrutiny’’ if England slump to a series whitewash in South Africa, according to English critics.

Jones described England’s 23-12 second test loss in Bloemfontein as a ‘‘horror movie’’, but a more frightening sequel could be in store if they fail again in Cape Town next weekend.

England – ‘‘having gone into the season with the ambition of becoming the first side to win three successive Six Nations titles’’ – now found themselves ‘‘in a state of freefall, with questions mounting about how they can arrest it,’’ Gavin Mairs wrote in the Daily Telegraph.

‘‘The series defeat, on the back of their fifth-place finish in the Six Nations, has stripped Eddie Jones’s side of the status of genuine contenders for next year’s World Cup.

‘‘Certainly on the evidence of the first two tests, England, against a completely new-look Springbok side, appear to be nowhere near where they should be just a year out from the tournament in Japan.

Mairs said a third defeat against the Springboks, with tests looming against the Springboks and the All Blacks in November at Twickenham, ‘‘would see Jones’s position come under fierce scrutiny’’.

England had now not won a test for 160 days, wrote Robert Kitson in The Guardian, noting ‘‘five test defeats in a row is the starkest English statistic of all’’.

‘‘Whatever magic dust Jones scattered earlier in his tenure has long since disappeared into the ether.

‘‘The post-mortem will become even messier if England are flattened again at Newlands, raising fresh doubts about the effectiveness of Jones’s training methods and whether or not he can drag things back between now and the World Cup.’’