Eddie crowned top coach

EDDIE JONES was last night named Coach of the Year at the World Rugby Awards, becoming the first England boss to win the prize since Sir Clive Woodward in 2003. Jones was voted above All Blacks coach Steve Hansen and Wales coach Warren Gatland at the awards ceremony in Monaco. The Australian has steered England to nine wins from 10 Tests in 2017 and claimed the best is yet to come as he builds towards the World Cup in 2019. ‘It’s great for the team,’ said Jones, who was handed his award by Sir Clive. ‘It’s a reflection of our team, the great players and the staff. The only reason I took the job was because I thought they had very good players. ‘There was just something a little bit missing and the players have been able to find that. We’re halfway through the project so we’ve still got a couple of good years to go.’ New Zealand’s Beauden Barrett won Player of the Year for the second year running.