CHILL OUT, EDDIE
Scots won’t rise to Jones ‘grudge match’ bait
SCOTLAND have been bemused to learn that Eddie Jones regards Saturday’s Calcutta Cup clash at Twickenham as a grudge match following his team’s defeat at Murrayfield last February.
The national coach made it abundantly clear after England’s 57-14 victory over Italy three days ago that he views the Guinness Six Nations finale as a chance for payback at the expense of the rivals north of the border. Jones was evidently aggrieved by events last year, when Scotland players engaged in pre-match antagonism and post- match triumphalism, while drunken Scottish fans accosted the Australian after a train journey to Manchester.
His comments were greeted with incredulity in Edinburgh yesterday. Scotland fly-half Finn Russell said: ‘Maybe it’s just Eddie being Eddie. That’s all a year ago now, so surely he’s not holding a grudge from that long ago, but you never know.’
In reference to the agitator who prompted a tunnel scuffle before last year’s match, Russell added, tongue-in- cheek: ‘Ryan Wilson isn’t in the squad just now, so he’s not going to be there to rough him up in the tunnel, whatever happens!’
Scotland assistant coach and former scrum-half, Mike Blair, was asked if Gregor Townsend’s squad would stick cuttings of Jones’ remarks to the changingroom wall as motivation. He quipped: ‘There’d be no room left on the wall! It’s something that he does, dropping a few quotes here and there. That’s his decision.’ Scotland confirmed yesterday that back-three trio Stuart Hogg, Tommy Seymour and Blair Kinghorn would all miss the England game with injury, but their opponents had a frustrating medical bulletin of their own. Maro Itoje was formally ruled out of the fixture after suffering another knee injury in training last week.
Saracens’ 24-year-old Lions lock was poised to play against Italy last weekend after recovering from a previous knee injury which had kept him out of the fixtures against France and Wales, before a fresh setback wrecked his comeback hopes. Itoje was taking part in a passing drill at England’s Surrey HQ last Tuesday when he tried to sidestep head coach Jones and collapsed in pain.
Having missed Italy, he has now been omitted from a squad of 31 summoned by Jones to prepare for the tournament finale. In his absence, Bath lock Elliott Stooke has been called up. Harlequins’ 20-year-old fly-half Marcus Smith was also summoned to train with the England squad, but he is not in contention to play against Scotland. His involvement casts further doubt over Danny Cipriani’s international future.
Meanwhile, Premiership clubs have formed an alliance with their counterparts in France to warn World Rugby that they will consider taking legal action if the proposals for an annual Nations League — involving more Tests each autumn — are formally ratified. Bill Beaumont, the chairman of World Rugby, has convened an urgent meeting of chief executives from the Tier 1 nations, Fiji and Japan, along with players’ union representatives in Dublin this week, to seek a consensus on the issue.
A statement released on behalf of Europe’s two leading leagues read: ‘LNR (Ligue Nationale de Rugby) and PRL (Premiership Rugby Ltd) regret that World Rugby is not fully involving all stakeholders and... reserve the right to take any action to preserve their rights and competitions.’