I’m not a brutal boss says Jones
COACH DEFENDS HIS STYLE
EDDIE JONES last night insisted he is not a “brutal employer” before confirming plans to play Marcus Smith and Owen Farrell together.
England’s head coach was reacting to an interview in which former England backroom staff and players, speaking anonymously, explained why it was so hard to work for him.
Jones said: “Am I a brutal employer? The fact I’ve been coaching for this period of time would indicate that that’s not the truth. Has there been a high turnover of staff? There’s been a turnover in certain areas where we’ve looked to refresh the staff. This is my sixth year in the job and you’d expect that from your support staff.”
The Australian has got through numerous attack and defence coaches during a tenure in which England have won three Six Nations titles and reached aWorld Cup final.
“Everyone has an opinion about how you operate – I can’t say whether it’s right or wrong,” he told BT Sport. “I just try to be a reasonable person. I’ve coached for a fair period of time and there’s probably been times I haven’t been as nice as I’d like to be, but I endeavour to be fair all the time.
“It’s part of the game. You’re either very good or you’re very poor. At the moment, in the media, I’m seen to be very poor. I’ve just got to cop it. “The only thing you can do is respond. And the only way to respond is by playing good rugby and that’s what we intend to do.”
To that end, he intends to pair Smith and Farrell at 10 and 12 in a twin playmaking role. “We’re keen to give Marcus and Owen the opportunity to play at 10/12 and see where they can go and take our game,” he said. “We’re keen to have a look at what they can do together.”
Meanwhile, second-row Charlie Ewels, above, believes
England can take a leaf out of South Africa’s book.
He said: “You look at South Africa’s run into the 2019 World Cup – they had one of the worst runs in their recent history two years out from the World Cup. Rassie Erasmus comes in as coach and it sharpens them up and they go on to win.
“The good teams respond to losses. They take those tough moments to sharpen themselves and be forced to adapt and do things differently.”
Ewels was part of the Lionsfree England side who took baby steps on the road to recovery in the summer with victories over USA and Canada at Twickenham.
With new faces in the squad and on the coaching staff, he feels the wind of change that blew in then will gather pace during the Autumn Nations Series.
Ewels said: “It does feel like a refresh. The team will naturally now evolve with new coaches, new players and new ideas.”