Scots legend Wright blasts Jones abuse and says the culprits have shamed us all
PETER WRIGHT last night slammed the “morons” who have embarrassed Scotland by abusing England rugby boss Eddie Jones.
The former Dark Blues prop believes footage, which has gone viral on social media, of the Australian being verbally and physically assaulted by three men has deflected the feelgood factor from Saturday’s Calcutta Cup win over the Auld Enemy.
Jones was jostled and shouted at after posing for a picture at a Manchester railway station last Sunday on the back of the 25-13 defeat at Murrayfield.
The SRU issued a statement saying they are “appalled” by the incident and the England coach has pledged never to use public transport again after fearing for his safety.
Wright is annoyed it has taken the shine off last weekend’s stunning Six Nations victory.
He said: “It’s unfortunate we have morons in this country and it’s always the tiny minority who ruin it for the majority.
“You look at Twitter and read the comments about ‘typical Scots’ and these type of remarks.
“But it’s anything but typically Scottish. It’s one or two bad eggs who’ve spoiled it for the rest of us.
“As a nation we’ve been decent in victory, we’ve held our heads high and haven’t slagged anyone as much as we could have.
“Everything has been in decent taste apart from this incident and you see the problem we have with social media.
“Had it happened 10 years ago nobody would have known about it. It wouldn’t have been filmed then posted on social media.
“You wonder how much a role this plays and are the offenders playing up to the camera?
“I read a tweet from Will Carling who said he had experienced bits and pieces as a player but that the majority of Scottish folk he knows are decent guys. We’ve all suffered something.
“I remember it happening to me down south and it’s the way you are spoken to by a tiny minority. Just because there are one or two morons, you don’t tar the entire nation with that brush.”
Scotland’s first win over England for a decade also saw some pre-match sniping from the likes of ex-Scotland skipper Gavin Hastings who talked about wanting to “rub Jones’s face in the dirt” as well as current prop Simon Berghan who claimed “everyone hates England”.
Wright insists 10 years of Calcutta Cup hurt didn’t help matters but he’s appalled at the treatment of Jones who had been a class act both before and after England’s defeat.
He said: “There were things said before the game but Jones was someone who had been talking Scotland up. He didn’t criticise us and after the game you need to be both a gallant winner as well as a gallant loser.
“Maybe there was an element of 10 years of frustration having been built up but that doesn’t justify it in the slightest.”