Jones: Ireland should have seen yellow for scrum
EDDIE JONES was proud of his players as England fell to a heroic defeat at Twickenham – but he was frustrated by the failure of referee Mathieu Raynal to penalise Ireland’s misfiring scrum more harshly.
England’s scrum emerged as a key weapon despite losing second row Charlie Ewels to a red card after less than two minutes. The home scrum engineered a raft of penalties and Jones questioned why Raynal did not reach for a yellow card.
‘I’m a bit disappointed the referee didn’t allow us to scrum fully. That would be my only complaint – we were not allowed to play advantage away from the scrum. We got four scrum penalties and there was no sign of a yellow card,’ Jones said.
‘We want to have a powerful scrum and if World Rugby want to have the scrum in the game they have got to allow the strong scrums to dominate.
‘We showed great spirit and great tactical discipline. With about 15 minutes to go, it was 15-15 and we were controlling the game and we just made a couple of mistakes that allowed them into the game.
‘It was a great learning experience. I see that as a foundation game for us where we set our campaign for the World Cup in 2023.
‘The spirit, the determination, the ability to work through problems were all absolutely outstanding.
‘This pack is only going to get better and better. We want to be an old-fashioned England pack and a new-fashioned England attack.
‘You can see how much the players are enjoying it and how much they want to play for each other. There were 82,000 people there that loved seeing the spirit of this team.’
Kyle Sinckler was concussed and must follow the return to play protocols and Jones confirmed Tom Curry will miss the final round against France because of what appeared to be a hamstring injury.
Ewels’ head-led tackle on James Ryan was a clear red card that left the Ireland lock with concussion, but it was clumsy rather than malicious.
‘It was a genuine attempt to make a good tackle but his head was in the wrong spot and we’ve no questions about the red card,’ Jones said.