Eddie Jones, who resigned as Australia coach this week, believes the England team have not improved since his dismissal last year. He will lead the Barbarians against Wales on Saturday took the XV de la Rose to the final of the 2019 Rugby World Cup and won three Six Nations Tournaments. “I had a good run with England, seven years, the highest winning percentage (for a manager). It was probably time for a change, the RFU decided it was, so be it,” he told the Telegraph.
And Eddie Jones continued: “But what’s interesting is that the team hasn’t improved. We made a final in 2019 and we were beaten in the semi-final in 2023.” Jones was full of praise for his successor, Steve Borthwick. “I think Steve did a fantastic job, a very good job,” said the Australian. He went back to traditional English rugby, while I tried to evolve him and failed. But I would rather do it than not do it. “Australia exited the 2023 World Cup at the group stage, but Jones did not want to take the blame. “If you don’t produce a winning team for 20 years, it’s not the coach’s fault, right? It’s the system. The system must change,” he said.
“I chose to accept a difficult position, a difficult position with certain conditions. When these conditions were not met, I chose not to continue. If people want to blame me for everything, that’s okay. I can’t control that.”