Jones feeling the heat as England surrender to Boks
EDDIE JONES was forced to fend off questions about his position as England head coach after they slumped to a sixth successive defeat and surrendered their series in South Africa.
Having surged into a 12-0 lead at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, England failed to score a point for the last 67 minutes of the match as the Springboks fought back to win.
There was unrest after the game as Joe Marler and Mike Brown were allegedly involved in verbal clashes with home fans, while Ben Youngs abruptly walked out of an interview with Sky Sports, before later returning to apologise and answer questions.
Jones insisted that he is capable of leading a turnaround, amid increasing pressure on himself and his faltering regime. ‘We just have to keep working,’ he said. ‘One hundred per cent, I am the man to find those answers. I can coach.
‘No one likes to lose five games (Tests) in-a-row. We have been through an exceptional period and now we’re going through this tough period. Players and coaches are putting in plenty of effort but, for some reason, they’re not handling key moments of the game well.’
Asked if England are feeling the heat, Jones added: ‘That’s always the case. An England side is always under pressure whether you’re winning or losing. You’re always under pressure.’
The second Test unfolded much like the first; a superb start by England counting for nothing as the error-count and the penalty-count mounted rapidly.
Just as at Ellis Park the previous Saturday, there were flashes of brilliance in attack. Just as at Ellis Park, there were missed tackles, ruck problems and poor composure.
There were bursts of petulance too. As the contest ebbed away from England, captain Owen Farrell became heated in his exchanges with referee Romain Poite. At one point, he had to be forcibly moved away by Maro Itoje.
Later, Mako Vunipola was lucky to avoid a yellow card after slapping Pieter-Steph du Toit when the flanker was grounded at a ruck.
England are in freefall. They will go to Cape Town for the last Test of this shattering tour facing the threat of a 3-0 whitewash.
Although the Boks only led by a point at half-time, there was a sense of inevitability about the final outcome once they had recovered.
The tourists seized the initiative and, in the 10th minute, they took the lead with a sweeping try. From a lineout on the left, Billy Vunipola blasted forward into contact. The ball came back quickly, George Ford sent it left to Farrell, he picked out Jonny May in support and his pass sent Mike Brown away to touch down. Farrell’s conversion put England 7-0 up.
It wasn’t long before their lead was into double figures. A penalty was kicked out for another lineout on the left and Itoje dispatched it to Youngs.
Ford looped around Farrell, his pass was juggled by Brown who then patted it out to Elliot Daly and the full-back made ground before releasing May.
He demonstrated his predatory instincts; racing past Siya Kolisi and cutting back inside to strike.
After a lengthy siege in England’s 22 and a scuffle involving several players, the comeback was ignited when Tendai Mtawarira marked his 100th Test appearance with a barnstorming midfield charge.
The ball was sent right to Vermeulen and he burst between Billy Vunipola and Itoje for the hosts’ first try.
Handre Pollard converted and the Springbok fly-half added two penalties to take his team into the break one point in front.
English troubles were stacking up as the errors and disciplinary lapses were increasingly creeping in once again and, just to cap it all, Billy Vunipola was forced off a minute before half-time, apparently with an arm injury.
The situation didn’t improve for Jones’s men after the restart. South Africa were in the ascendancy again and, in the 50th minute the Bok pack drove an attacking scrum back to their opponents’ line and Poite awarded a penalty try to make it 20-12.
Another penalty by Pollard 13 minutes from time reinforced South Africa’s control and there was no way back, no reprieve, and no salvation for England.