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20th March 2021
08:50pm GMT
He denied that his team is going backwards and argued that all his team need to discover is some consistency. Asked if Ireland surprised him, Jones remarked:
"No, we felt they’d come pretty hard at us through the front door, mate. Given the previous results between the teams we knew they wanted to settle the physical stakes particularly. We thought they’d come hard, we thought they’d kick a lot, which they did and they did it very well, mate."
What then followed were a series of short, sharp responses to different English reporters, starting with an enquiry if Ireland got their tactics right:
JONES: They got their tactics right, yeah and the scoreboard indicates that.
REPORTER: Do you feel there is a bit of a disconnect between the team and supporters
JONES: I don’t think that’s the case, mate, I don’t know what you are talking about.
REPORTER: On Whatsapp and social media, much of the comments are negative
JONES: I don’t know mate, I can’t comment on it.
REPORTER: What has to change?
JONES: We need to assess where we are going. I said all along we are going through transition and this is almost a natural time for that to happen, almost two years to a World Cup. Those things will happen.
REPORTER: Is that a case of tactics, or is it personnel?
JONES: bit of both, mate.
REPORTER: Are you still able to get through to players?
JONES: Yeah, most definitely, I don’t think that’s the issue. If it was the issue, I wouldn’t be the coach of the team.
The England coach wrapped up by saying Ireland were never going to play the same open style that the French did, last Saturday, at Twickenham.
"This was always going to be a tight, attritional game at the Aviva Stadium," he concluded, "and we started well and let a few things disappoint us and we got away from it and allowed Ireland to get on the front foot."
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