Eddie in four-letter fury over ‘grindathon’
EDDIE Jones last night condemned his side’s latest defeat of the Pumas as “a grindathon” after blowing his top at them at Twickenham.
The head coach lost his rag during the 21-8 victory and at one stage slammed his notebook and pen down in anger, screaming “that’s f***ing stupid”.
He managed to calm himself down a little afterwards but was still annoyed that his men had made so many basic errors and huffed and puffed to finally blow Argentina away in the opening home Autumn clash.
Jones, desperate to avoid a repeat dismal display against Australia in six days time, complained: “It was a grindathon! We were well off the pace. We haven’t played a game together since March and it showed. The fluidity and understanding just weren’t there.
“There were too many wayward passes and we gave away too many soft penalties. The understanding between the Nos 10, 12 and 13 wasn’t quite there. We want to play well and play good rugby.
“I haven’t seen replays of what I did in my seat. How frustrated? Throwing stuff? That’s frustrated! I can’t see why I wouldn’t be frustrated at that performance.
“We took time to adjust and need to tidy up a few
things if we are going to beat Australia. But I know we will be better. We’ve only had four training sessions together and the boys take time to gel.
“We have a clear vision of how we want to play against Australia...and we will put that vision into action. That will be another game on a different level, but we will be ready.”
Captain Dylan Hartley admitted: “It was not a pretty win but the win was the main thing. We need to work hard in training to get better for next week. And there’s certainly plenty to work on! The team is still gelling with a few changes but we have to be ready for what the Aussies will bring.”
England struggled to get out of second gear against an Argentinian team they were beating for a third time in a row. The 21-8 victory, thanks to tries from Nathan Hughes and Semesa Rokoduguni, took their run to 21 wins from 22 Tests. But it also came at a cost with Mike Brown looking set to miss the clash with the Wallabies after leaving the field with a head injury.
The full-back was removed from the action after being hit in the air by Pumas No.15 Joaquin Tuculet while trying to catch the ball.
Jones was unhappy Tuculet escaped with just a sin bin. He said: “We lost a man for a whole game. They lost one for ten minutes.”
Jones was at least pleased with the performance of exciting young flanker Sam Underhill who was winning his second cap and said: “Sam Underhill is a good little player and will only get better. He looks like he could be a genuine No.7 for us.”
Try scorer Hughes was one of the stand-out players and is clearly enjoying his chance to continue filling in for the injured Billy Vunipola having toured Argentina in the summer.
The Wasps man said: “Credit to the boys for getting me over the whitewash, I’m happy I caught the ball. There was a lot of glue on my hands.
“As a No.8 you are a goforward person. If you do that you’ve done your job for the team, and the backs can run in the tries. I thought I put myself in that situation today. I got my hands on the ball as much as possible.”