Jones under threat after Six Nations debacle
EDDIE JONES’ boss will today deliver his preliminary verdict on England’s worst-ever Six Nations campaign.
A review into how the world’s biggest and richest rugby country could finish last but one has already begun.
Jones and his coaching team met yesterday for a debrief.
England’s under-fire head coach also took a call from RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney.
Twickenham were quick to make clear there would be no knee-jerk reaction to England’s hapless spring, which saw defeats to Scotland, Wales and Ireland for the first time in 45 years.
And despite the World Cup finalists being buried beneath an avalanche of points and penalties, it should not automatically trigger the break clause in Jones’ contract.
But Sweeney will be expected to state clearly his displeasure and not simply rubber-stamp another two years of Jones’ methods.
“It just seems with that England side it’s harder to get out of than in at the minute,” Lions legend Jamie Roberts told Sky Sports.
“It hasn’t worked this campaign and something has to change.
“His players have come out, as has he, and said, ‘We know the path we were on.’ I just can’t see it.
“I’m trying to understand, one, how they want to play the game and, two, how on earth he can pick players who aren’t in form and haven’t had game time.
“There are players lighting up the Premiership, like Marcus
Smith, Alex Dombrandt and Sam Simmonds, who are waiting for their opportunity and he’s missed a massive chance to blood those players this campaign.”
Should the RFU decide to make a change there are no shortage of quality alternatives.
Lions boss Warren Gatland, Crusaders coach Scott Robertson and current England No.2 John Mitchell are three top-class Kiwis, while domestic quartet Pat Lam, Rob Baxter, Steve Borthwick and Mark Mccall are proven operators.