Jones still bullish despite defeat
Eddie Jones last night defended his credentials after he watched England produce a rudderless display to end a difficult 2022 with a 27-13 loss to South Africa at Twickenham, writes GEORGE SESSIONS.
Tries from Kurt-lee Arendse and Eben Etzebeth either side of half-time helped the Springboks ease to a comfortable victory with Faf de Klerk adding an 11-point haul while Damian Willemse kicked two drop goals.
World champions South Africa finished with 14 men after Thomas du Toit’s 61st-minute red card for a no-arms tackle on Luke Cowan-dickie but Henry Slade’s late score was all England could muster during a drab finale to the Autumn Nations Series.
It meant Jones’ side suffered another defeat, their sixth from 12 Tests in the calendar year – their worst run since 2008.
The Springboks’ dominance across the pitch was reminiscent of their
2019 World Cup final triumph and, despite England going backwards since their runners-up showing in Japan, their Australian head coach insisted they could have a “really good go” at next year’s tournament in France.
“We want to win. We don’t want to get beat by a big score to South Africa and don’t want to have the worst record since 2008 so it is a problem but I accept full responsibility for that,” Jones (inset) said.
“Obviously on results we are not happy but I feel like we are building a really good base to have a really good go at the World Cup, a really good go.
“A number of young players got great experience today and they’ll come back better players for that. We’ve got other players coming back to form, some of our more senior players and we’re not far away.
“We need to develop consistently. Test match rugby is all about consistency.
“Selection wise we are moving in the right direction.”
■ Wayne Pivac’s future as Wales head coach was left hanging by a thread after Australia staged a stunning fightback to win an Autumn Nations Series thriller 39-34 in Cardiff.
Seven days after a humiliating home defeat against Georgia, Wales were cruising to victory with a 34-13 lead after 58 minutes.
But the injury-hit Wallabies somehow turned things around, scoring 26 unanswered points during the final 22 minutes as Wales captain Justin Tipuric and hooker Ryan Elias were yellow-carded seven minutes apart.