APOLOGETIC
Head coach Eddie Jones sought to draw a line under the derogatory comments made about Ireland and Wales as he performed radical surgery on the team for England’s final Natwest Six Nations match.
Jones was forced to apologise on Wednesday night after footage emerged of the Australian referring to the newly-crowned champions as the “scummy Irish” and Wales as a “little s*** country” during a talk on leadership given last year.
Speaking publicly on the matter for the first time at England’s team announcement press conference yesterday, Jones refused to expand on his remarks beyond issuing a further apology.
“I’d just like to say I’ve apologised for the remarks. I sincerely mean that,” Jones said.
“I really don’t have anything else to say on the matter. I’m happy to obviously answer questions on a fantastic game that’s coming up but I think the other matter is dead. I’ve made the statement, I don’t need to say anything else on it. I think I’ve made every statement that I need to make on it.”
Jones insisted the comments will have little influence on the desire of Joe Schmidt’s men to complete only the third tournament clean sweep in their history.
“Ireland are preparing for a Grand Slam, they don’t need any extra motivation,” Jones said.
Asked if he will reconsider giving similar talks in future, Jones replied: “Ah, possibly, yeah. It’s something I’ll reconsider after the game, the only thing I am worried about at the moment is the game.”
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“I’d just like to say I’ve apologised for the remarks. I sincerely mean that. I’ve made the statement, I don’t need to say anything else on it”
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EDDIE JONES