Eddie Jones chirps new England coach: ‘Keep blaming me’

Eddie Jones has hit back at Steve Borthwick, who has openly criticised and blamed his predecessor for England’s poor form in Test rugby.

The new England boss had only had 11 days’ training time with the squad after his coaching mentor Jones was sacked following a poor November series that capped England’s worst year since 2008.

Last weekend, England slumped to an unceremonious 29-23 loss to Scotland, whose South African-born winger Duhan van der Merwe bagged two stunning tries in his team’s victory. 

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In the aftermath of the shocking result, Borthwick made a scathing assessment of the England side he inherited from Jones, insisting they “weren’t good at anything”.

A few days has now gone by since Borthwick’s verbal attack, but Eddie Jones has finally responded by saying he has a “strong back and shoulders” and can carrying anything anything throws at time.

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EDDIE JONES CHIRPS NEW ENGLAND COACH

Eddie Jones, who was hired as Wallabies head coach, responded to Borthwick’s comments on his self-titled podcast EDDIE.

“He [Borthwick] is probably right. And that was part of the problem. We were trying to morph a team that had been a very good set-piece and a very good kicking team. The way the game is played at the moment, that will win you games, but it is probably not good enough to be a World Cup champion,” Eddie Jones said.

“So expanding the attack sometimes takes away from your strength. They are going through that difficult period now where they are trying to get the balance right in the game. There is no doubt Steve will fix it.

“And keep blaming me, that is alright. I have got a pretty strong back and pretty strong shoulders to absorb that,” Eddie Jones said cheekily.

“When you are young players, inconsistency is unfortunately a part of your apprenticeship at Test level. You get lapses of concentration. As they build their Tests up and build their maturity, they will be really good players.

“There is probably still a bit more pain to go for England which is hard for the supporters and hard for the coaches, but I am sure they will get through it,” Eddie Jones concluded.

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