‘Waste of time’ Jones to boycott refs’ meetings
Coach still furious after Underhill’s try ruled out England field strongest line-up against Japan
Eddie Jones is so disenchanted by the refereeing inconsistency that surrounded Sam Underhill’s potentially match-winning but ultimately disallowed try against New Zealand last Saturday that he has pledged never again to attend meetings with referees.
French official Jerome Garces allowed himself to be overruled by television match official Marius Jonker at Twickenham, even though World Rugby had issued an edict only two days earlier stressing that referees should take the initiative in such situations and trust their initial judgments.
Jonker, however, pointed out that there had been what he considered to be a marginal offside committed by Courtney Lawes back around the 10-metre line prior to the forward charging down All Black scrum-half TJ Perenara, an action that enabled Underhill to latch on to the ball and race 40 metres to the line. Garces was standing only a metre or two from that sequence of play, with an unimpeded view of the ruck.
Jones has been involved in several World Rugby workshops to decide on law amendments and recommendations, and attended a meeting at the Lensbury club in London last Wednesday with all international coaches and referees at which the use of the TMO was discussed.
It is customary, too, for coaches to meet with a referee on the eve of the game to run through various scenarios.
Jones was asked yesterday if he would be checking the precise TMO protocols with the match officials for Saturday’s game against Japan at Twickenham.
“I don’t think I’ll go to another referees’ meeting in my life, it’s a waste of time,” said Jones, who was torn between venting his feelings and not coming across as a sore loser. His main complaint was that procedures are not being adhered to and that such situations are no longer supposed to occur.
“The referees have a tough job, tough decisions to make, and all we want in rugby is consistency in decision-making,” said Jones. “If we have policies then we have to follow them. If we don’t follow them, then what is the point of being involved in those policies and decision-making?
“I would rather just accept it and get on with it. Smile at the end of the game if it doesn’t go our way, know that if it does go our way one time, it won’t the next time.
“That’s the way it goes, you either get the rub of the green or you don’t. I don’t have any sour grapes at all about the game. You win some, you lose some, and get on with it. But there is something wrong somewhere.”
Meanwhile, Jones has warned his team to beware at Twickenham of the sort of Japanese ambush that led to the biggest shock in World Cup history three years ago, when the Jones-coached Brave Blossoms defeated the Springboks in Brighton, a result that helped lead eventually to the Australian taking up the England job.
Jones intends to field his strongest side against Japan, albeit he will be without Saracens lock George Kruis who has been ruled out for six to eight weeks with the calf injury that forced him off against New Zealand.
“A hundred per cent it will be our strongest team because Japan will come with the mentality that they can win at Twickenham,” said Jones. “When I first went to Japan to coach them [in 2012] they had a completely losing mindset. They were happy to play against England and get beaten 70-20 because as long as they tried hard, they were happy. Because the young guys have experienced Japan winning, they now think they can win. That makes them more dangerous.
“We want to smash Japan and it is important our players have that mindset because it is one of those tricky games, one you should win, one you’re expected to. But if you go in with anything less than an aggressive mindset you will get caught out. Japan have a record of showing how that can be done.”
Jones expects to have a full complement of players available to him bar Kruis and Manu Tuilagi.