Crisis – what crisis?

Eddie Jones’ closest confidants reveal why coach should not be doubted as his side try to kick their losing habit

‘He is definitely a fighter. I don’t think he has ever been fazed by size of the task in front of him’

One year ago, Eddie Jones had yet to taste defeat as England head coach with a second Six Nations title in the bag ahead of a trip across the Irish Sea. His reputation ranked somewhere between Midas and Moses, leading England out of the wilderness into the promised land.

In the past three weeks, the champions have been dethroned, the golden touch forgotten and the path of the one-time saviour questioned like never before.

His side have suffered back-toback defeats by Scotland and France, while the coach himself has been assailed by loutish fans on a train back from Edinburgh and forced to apologise for making derogatory comments about Ireland and Wales last summer.

And things could get worse before they get better. Ireland arrive at Twickenham today seeking a Grand Slam that could condemn England to a fifth-placed finish and amplify the theory that Jones is a coach capable of fostering only short-term success.

Yet bumps in the road are nothing new for Jones. He may have enjoyed long golden spells with Australia, Japan and England, but there have also been dips: he was sacked by the Wallabies in 2005, and pushed towards the exit at Queensland Reds – where he lost 11 out of 13 games – and Saracens.

The lesson, according to those closest to him, is that it would be foolish to write him off. As Bob Dwyer, his long-term mentor, says: “The thing about Eddie is that he was forged in adversity.”

That indomitable spirit goes back to his childhood when he was subjected to racist abuse growing up in New South Wales. At 80kg (12st 5lb), he had no real right to play top-level rugby as a frontrower, but ended up as hooker in one of the all-time great Randwick sides where Dwyer coached.

“One of his first major elite-level matches was for New South Wales Waratahs against Queensland Reds,” Dwyer said. “Eddie was up against Tom Lawton who was about 120kg [18st 8lb]. New South Wales were victorious. The scrum did not suffer, Eddie did not suffer. He has always had a lot of ticker.”

As a coach, Jones’s professional career was nearly over before it had barely begun. Taking over a Brumbies team in 1998 that had come second in Super 12, Jones’s first season was a disaster as they came 10th. There were loud calls for his sacking. “He could easily have gone,” Joe Roff, the Brumbies and Australia winger, recalls. “What I remember about it is that he looked in the mirror harder than anyone else. I think that real desire to learn from mistakes rubbed off on the players.”

The following season, the Brumbies finished fifth and then were runners-up to Crusaders in 2000 after a last-minute Andrew Mehrtens penalty, which prompted the players to decamp to the clubhouse bar.

“We were all still up drowning our sorrows and we saw him walk into the office at 5am to start planning the next season,” Roff said. “That was hours after the final whistle. That’s just his personality.” The next season the Brumbies were crowned champions.

While his reputation as a foreboding taskmaster is well deserved, Roff said his demeanour does not change significantly between victory and defeat. “Mate, he is hard on you all the time, win or lose,” Roff said. “The thing about Eddie being hardest on himself is that he can then have those direct conversations. In public, he does not throw anyone under the bus. He takes defeats on his own shoulders and what that does is engender unbelievable loyalty within the playing group.”

Jones succeeded Rod Macqueen as Australia coach in 2001, but doubts quickly surfaced, particularly when the Wallabies were thrashed 50-21 at home by New Zealand in 2003 just weeks before a home World Cup.

Far from suffering dented confidence, Jones became emboldened. “He was convinced that the next time we played them at the World Cup we would win,” said George Gregan, the former scrum-half.

Australia duly beat the All Blacks 22-10 in the semi-final before losing in the final to an extra-time Jonny Wilkinson drop goal.

Gregan played under Jones for more than a decade at the Brumbies, Australia and with Suntory in Japan and says the coach’s reaction to setbacks on the field is consistent. “His focus narrows,” Gregan said. “The messages become simpler. He will stand up and take responsibility for the loss. Internally, he will put more responsibility on to his senior playing group.”

After the 2003 World Cup, Jones tried to change the Wallabies’ style. Australia won 13 of their next 16 games before the wheels came off in 2005 with a run of seven defeats in eight games that resulted in his dismissal.

That pattern has been repeated throughout Jones’s coaching career where victories and defeats come in streaks, an initial upsurge giving way to a slide. This has led to unfavourable comparisons with Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho, that Jones is only capable of achieving success in two- or three-year periods.

“I heard what everyone is saying about that but I’d ask who is a long-term winning coach at a single organisation?” Gregan said. “Sir Alex Ferguson and Bill Belichick maybe, but they didn’t win titles every single year.”

Even in that season from hell with the Reds, Jones installed the nucleus of the side that would become Super Rugby champions in 2011. “When everyone else is heading north, he decides to go south,” Gregan said. “That’s part of the charm of Eddie, but sometimes you don’t see those benefits for a couple of years.”

Gregan and Dwyer both laugh at suggestions of England being in a tailspin. “Gosh, you have lost three Test matches since he has taken over,” Gregan said. “You’re not exactly in a crisis are you?”

Even if Jones’s confidence appears absolute, Dwyer says there will be plenty going on beneath the exterior. “He will have doubts,” Dwyer said. “I hope he does. If you have no fear, you have no courage and courage is overcoming fear.

“He is definitely a courageous person. He is definitely a fighter. He is definitely determined. I don’t think he has ever been fazed by the size of the task in front of him. When he encountered a problem, he would confront the issue, he would analyse it and he would plot a path around, over or through it.”