Jones apologises to Welsh and Irish
ENGLAND head coach Eddie Jones has “apologised unreservedly” for offensive comments he made about Wales and Ireland.
At a sponsors’ talk in July 2017, the Australian described Wales as a “shit little place” and spoke about how disappointed he was by a recent defeat by the “scummy Irish”.
Jones, 58, said he was “very sorry for any offence caused” and added: “No excuses. I shouldn’t have said what I did.”
A spokesman for English rugby union’s governing body said the remarks were “inappropriate” and the RFU would apologise to its counterparts in Ireland and Wales.
England’s next match is against Ireland at Twickenham today.
Referring to their 13-9 defeat by the same opponents in the 2017 Six Nations, Jones said: “We’ve played 23 Tests, we’ve only lost one Test to the scummy Irish.
“I am still dirty about that game. We’ll get that back, we’ll get that back don’t worry. We’ve got them next year at home, we’ll get them back.”
The video of Jones’ talk was uploaded to YouTube by Fuso — the Japanese parent company of England sponsors Mitsubishi — in July last year but has only now gained wider public attention.
Earlier in the talk, Jones discussed Japan Under-20s losing to their Welsh counterparts 1250 shortly after he took over as Brave Blossoms head coach in 2012.
“Who knows Wales? Are there any Welsh people here? So it’s this little shit place that has got three million people. Three million!” he said.
Ireland won this year’s Six Nations with a game to spare and will complete a Grand Slam if they beat England today, which is St Patrick’s Day.
England, winners of the two previous tournaments, could finish as low as fifth with defeat.
ENGLAND back-rowers Courtney Lawes and Nathan Hughes are likely to miss the rest of the season with knee ligament injuries picked up in last weekend’s Six Nations defeat by France.
Northampton Saints’ Lawes, 29, and Wasps’ Hughes, 26, are expected to be out for about 14 and 12 weeks respectively after surgery.
Lawes has played every Six Nations game, while Hughes has appeared twice.
Exeter’s Don Armand has been called up for today’s closer against Ireland.
The injuries could also hamper their availability for England’s summer tour of South Africa, which takes in three Tests around the country in June.