Skip to content

Eddie Jones says Ireland's Grand Slam may mark end of some England careers

Ireland celebrate after completing the Six Nations Grand Slam
Image: Ireland celebrate after completing the Six Nations Grand Slam

Eddie Jones has paid tribute to Ireland following England's 24-15 Six Nations defeat while suggesting the result could spell the end for some of his players.

In the aftermath of Ireland's third Grand Slam, Jones paid homage to the manner of Ireland's victory and the efforts of his counterpart, Joe Schmidt, describing Ireland as "a good tough team" before adding: "They are very well disciplined, they play to their strengths and very worthy Grand Slam winners."

Jones has presided over three defeats, to Scotland, France and Ireland, in this year's Six Nations and suggested that he may have run out of patience with certain unnamed England players.

"Some guys have come in and done really well and some will maybe struggle to participate in the future," he said. "We have to get a greater depth to our squad that can play test rugby.

Ireland's Johnny Sexton celebrates with the Triple Crown
Image: Ireland's Johnny Sexton celebrates with the Triple Crown

"There are some guys who are starting their international careers and they need time. I have to decide whether I have got time to get them ready for the World Cup."

Jones said of England's performance: "It was a really good effort," he said of England's performance. "No lack of effort by the team. We just struggled to execute at certain times. I thought our players really stuck at it but we gave them too big a lead.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

England head coach Eddie Jones responds to the jeers at Twickenham which followed their defeat to Ireland in the Six Nations

"It's obviously disappointing, but you go through these little runs and the only way you get out of it is by sticking with the process and focusing on what you need to improve."

Also See:

At one point, Ireland led 24-5 and England were on course to suffer their biggest home Six Nations defeat, until late tries from Elliot Daly and Jonny May put a gloss on the scoreline. But Jones denied England have regressed despite conceding second place in the global rankings to Ireland last weekend.

 during the NatWest Six Nations match between England and Ireland at Twickenham Stadium on March 17, 2018 in London, England.
Image: Anthony Watson fumbles before Ireland's first score

"We just got to keep looking at our game and looking at how we need to improve," he said. "As I said, this is quite natural for a team to go through, it's not good, but it's natural.

"We gave them too many penalties at the start of the game which allowed them to get such a big lead.

"I don't think we have. In terms of results we have, but in terms of where we want to go as a team, we are moving forward. I know that is hard to see," he said.

"There is nothing that stands out that we massively need to fix. There are a number of things that are ongoing.

"We have spoken about leadership density - having more leaders on the field - and that is something that is a slow burner, you have got to build that, you have got to keep working on it."

Jacob Stockdale scored Ireland's third try of the first half
Image: Jacob Stockdale scored Ireland's third try of the firs- half

Reacting to the win that was secured by tries from Gary Ringrose, CJ Stander and Jacob Stockdale, Ireland captain Rory Best said: "Every kid grows up dreaming of playing for Ireland, but to win something while captaining in that special green jersey is the stuff that dreams are made of. It's the biggest highlight of my career.

"It was a really, really tough match. We created a couple of opportunities and a few things we planned went our way. It was one of those days where we took a few set plays we wanted. But it was far from easy. They are a quality side.

"Defensively that was definitely our best display in the competition. We owed (defence coach) Andy Farrell one. We hadn't followed through on his plan before this."

Ireland's winning coach Joe Schmidt said: "That eight minutes after half-time today totally summed up this team. We've scored a lot of tries this year, but that pure resilience, the ability to get back up in the defensive line, that was exceptional."

Around Sky