Sir Clive Woodward has given his former sparring partner one last goodbye shot, ending the Eddie Jones era and welcoming Steve Borthwick’s appointment as clarified England coach.
In a column for the Daily Mail, the former World Cup-winning coach, who defeated Jones in the 2003 final, did not pass up the opportunity to add salt to the wound.
Woodward confronted Jones head-on in two of these areas.
Borthwick, according to Woodward, would be a “breath of fresh air,” despite the high staff turnover under Jones.
Woodward wrote in the Daily Mail that “Borthwick runs an honest environment, and the RFU should follow suit.”
After the 2001 Cook Cup match between England and Australia at the Twickenham Rugby Ground in London, England Manager Clive Woodward wraps a warm arm around Jonny Wilkinson. Australia was defeated by England 21-15. Compulsory Credit: Coach Clive Woodward, who won the Allsport World Cup with Dave Rogers, hasn’t missed an opportunity to rub salt in Eddie Jones’ wound. Photo: DaveRogers/Allsport On selection, despite Jones possessing England’s greatest win-loss record (73%), Woodward was even more vehement in his criticism of the Australian.
Woodward ended by saying that Borthwick would face “challenges,” but for the first time he was excited about the coming year.
“ He is qualified to carry it out. Woodward came to the conclusion that English fans must support him.
Jones, on the other hand, spoke out in an interview with the French newspaper Midi Olympique.
Jones, who has been linked to roles in the United States, Australia, and Japan, suggested that during his final seven years with England, he might have become “too nice.”
He stated to Midi Olympique, “I was certainly too hard on the players when I started with the Wallabies 20 years ago.”
However, I’ve grown a lot as a manager over the years. I even believe that in recent years I have been too nice to the players.
In addition, Jones expressed his greatest regret as England coach, stating that the decision to select players from Saracens during the club’s demotion for violating the salary cap harmed the performance of the national team in 2021 and 2022.
” If I could go back in time, maybe I would change some of my selection criteria.” The Saracens had recently been downgraded to the second division. You probably already know that players from the Sarries made up the majority of the XV of England at the time.
The issue is that their performance immediately suffered as a result of their substantial level decline in the second division.
That year, I ought to have changed my tune. And I’m sorry about it because I made a mistake.
Eddie Jones, England’s Director of Rugby, claims that as England coach, he was “too nice” to players. Photo: Bob Bradford – CameraSport via Getty Images Following England’s 25-25 loss to New Zealand in November, the Australian coach also stated that he observed a shift in the wind.
Jones stated, “I had a meeting with the senior directors of the RFU.” That day, I experienced an odd atmosphere. They weren’t like they typically are when I’m around. The British media continued to be critical after that. At that point, I realized that the end was near.
On the same day that Jones made his remarks, RFU chief Bill Sweeney played down the fact that their relationship had become worse.
He stated, “We weren’t sure it was going to get better.” You can’t, in my opinion, obsess over a World Cup every four years and blame everything else on that one goal. We ought to strive for victory in each and every Six Nations match.
Sweeney added, “There was absolutely no breakdown in relationship with Eddie,” stating that he would be “amazed” if Jones did not participate in the World Cup the following year.