Eddie Jones believes his Australian heritage is adding to the building pressures around his future as England rugby coach.
England face a Grand Slam chasing France in Paris in their last Six Nations clash this weekend. With their own title hopes gone, questions continue to circle Jones’ approach heading into next year’s World Cup in France.
A win over France could lift England to third on the table while a loss would see them finish fifth for a second consecutive year.
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Jones, who took England to the final of the last World Cup, told the BBC he always knew he was going to be under heavy scrutiny.
“I don’t think it helps being an Australian but that’s part of the deal. When I decided to do another [World Cup] cycle, I knew that would be more intense,” he told the BBC.
“The longer you’re in the job, the more people probably don’t want you to be in the job. It’s all part of the job that we have.”
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Jones remains confident in his building process as he brings new blood into the squad.
“It’s for other people to judge whether we’re growing as a team,” he said as England licked their wounds following their latest 34-15 defeat to Ireland, where they had to play virtually the whole match with 14 men.
“I’ve got my own internal assessment and I like what I see. I like to see the growing spirit of this team. We’re moving in the right direction, but I’m sure other people have their own judgement.”
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One critic who hasn’t been impressed is former England coach Sir Clive Woodward who lambasted Jones for his “macho” approach.
“We had all this pathetic macho stuff from Jones in the build-up (to the Ireland game) about how England were going to play with a physicality and aggression that Ireland hadn’t seen before,” Woodward wrote in his latest column for the Daily Mail.
“Why even go there? Of course it’s going to be tough and torrid up front, it’s England against Ireland at Twickenham for heaven’s sake. It’s a given.
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“It’s that kind of ridiculous rhetoric that probably contributed to Charlie Ewels’ dangerous challenge, which was rightly punished with a red card.
“Part of that flawed approach was also fuelled by Jones’ insistence that England be viewed as the underdogs.
“Eddie is what is often referred to in Australia as an ‘Aussie battler’ – he prides himself as that underdog figure who seems to think the world is against him.
“That streetfighter approach can only take you so far.
“It can work when you are clearly the minnows, but England are not little guys who constantly need winding up.
“England teams start firing when they believe they are the best and set about proving that week after week, based on playing the game faster and with more skill than the opposition.”
– This article originally appeared on stuff.co.nz and is reproduced with permission