Eddie Jones, the former England coach, claims he faced an unpleasant encounter with a fan during Japan’s heavy defeat to England at Twickenham but he brushed off Danny Care’s critical remarks about his management style with a laugh.
In his first match at Twickenham against the team he led from 2015 to 2022 since leaving, which ended in a comprehensive nine-try victory for England, Jones experienced a sour moment due to a verbal spat with a spectator.
Reflecting on his return to the home of English rugby, Jones remarked: “It wasn’t bad until some clown abused me going down the stairs at half-time.”
He declined to repeat the offensive comment, jokingly asking the press, “Do you want me to get into trouble again? If there’s only one clown in 81,634 that’s not bad.”
The Rugby Football Union has condemned the incident, insisting that “no coaches, players or match officials should be abused for doing their job.”
The controversy surrounding Jones’ coaching tactics intensified following revelations in Danny Care’s autobiography ‘Everything Happens for a Reason’, where Care described a “bloody terrified” atmosphere under Jones, branding it “toxic” and likening Jones to a “tyrant” and “despot”.
Jones humorously hit back at these claims, announcing a new book deal with a tongue-in-cheek title inspired by Care’s comments: “I’ll tell you mate, I’ve got a new book deal. I just signed it today. It’s going to be called ‘Caring about Care’ and you’ll get all the details in there.
“I’ve got pre-order forms up here, you can come up and get a pre-order form. Get them hot.
“I’m trying to do a deal with the Daily Mail, but we haven’t come to an agreement yet. If you want to read about it, there you go. It’ll be a good one.
“I’m very serious. I’m very serious, mate. If you want to read about it, read it in my book. That’s how you get a headline, so I’ll put a whole chapter in there ‘Caring about Care’, just for you.”
In a brighter turn for English rugby, England concluded their autumn series on a positive note by defeating Japan, halting their five-Test slump.
Still, the campaign was marred with disappointment as close-run matches against powerhouse teams such as New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa resulted in narrow defeats at Twickenham, piling the pressure on Borthwick.
Reflecting on the autumn matches, Borthwick conveyed mixed feelings: “The overriding feeling this autumn is one of frustration to have come so close to getting results but not actually being able to convert them.
“But there is real positivity around how the team played. I want the team to be brave with the ball, I want them to play fast, and we’ve seen growth in that area over the last four weeks.
“I’m really pleased with the way the players approached the game against Japan and the way they kept being disciplined to try and play the way they wanted to play for 80 minutes. You can see the identity they’re trying to build as a team.
“In the last four weeks we’ve scored some really outstanding tries with the skill level that is in this group.”
