Eddie: It was like watching horror film
EDDIE Jones described England’s latest defeat as “a horror show’ and called on the players to show pride in the remaining Test against the Springboks in Cape Town.
Jones saw England lose 23-12 in Bloemfontein – their fifth successive Test defeat – to go 2-0 down in the series and said: “I’m obviously very disappointed. We started the game well but it was a bit like a horror movie.
“It was a rerun of last week” – the first Test in Johannesburg which England lost 42-39 after a similarly promising start.
“We were trying to work out a solution and pick out a plan but as soon as something small happens we don’t seem to react well.”
He added:“No one wants to lose five Tests. For some reason we’re just not handling those key moments of the game.
“This team has got a lot of pride, we have won backto-back Six Nations and equalled the record for wins. Now we’re going through this bloody tough period.
“Everyone will fight hard to get out of this, you’ll see at Cape Town.
“It’s sticking together, understanding what’s important in handling the emotions of the situation. To beat South African teams in South Africa,
you’ve got to play well and play well consistently.”
Jones said he did not understand why England were struggling to maintain their initial momentum.
“If you don’t control the ebb and flow, the game gets away from you. It’s a great learning experience for the team, extremely painful.”
On England’s relatively high number of penalties, he said: “I think the players are trying too hard, they’re trying to solve problems themselves and not trusting their team.
“The players definitely feel that they can do better. That is the reality of life. Everyone is in this team because they want to win. They want to win for England and they want to keep the supporters happy.
“When you don’t win we definitely have frustration and disappointment. It’s sometimes difficult to control.”
One who did find it difficult to control his emotions was scrum-half Ben Youngs who gave a curt 20 second interview to Sky pitchside reporter Gail Davis before abruptly walking off.
“We are really disappointed, we lost the series, we are really gutted about that and we will work to get that right,” he said.
Youngs later apologised on Twitter: “Just wanted to say sorry I walked off during my interview with Sky Sports. Obviously was very emotional and disappointed with result. We go again in Cape Town.”
Owen Farrell managed a little longer. “We will have to make sure we know where we went wrong and learn from it,” he said. “We are going to have to regroup for next week.”
Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira, after winning his 100th cap in Bloemfontein, said. “It was a scay opening but then we came back well. It’s one of the most memorable days of my career.”
In the Sky studio, World Cup winning-coach Sir Clive Woodward accused England of “trying to be too flash and playing Barbarian rugby.”
Former England captain Will Carling tweeted the side “need to get the best out of Itoje, Vunipolas again. Fine margins and sweeping statements of apocalyptic catastrophe don’t get us anywhere.”