Clive Woodward thunders into Eddie Jones debate ignited by Danny Care

Former England coach Clive Woodward has unloaded on the RFU following Danny Care’s weekend revelations about the way Eddie Jones allegedly ran the team during his time in charge. The Australian was appointed successor to Stuart Lancaster following the 2015 Rugby World Cup pool stage elimination.

He enjoyed Six Nations title success during his initial two years in charge but the rumbustious way he ran his operation through to the winter of 2022 apparently left much to be desired, according to Care who was dropped in 2018 and had to wait four years for a recall.

The veteran Harlequins scrum-half retired from Test rugby following England’s third-place finish in the 2024 Guinness Six Nations and an extract from his new book, Everything Happens for a Reason: My Life in Rugby, was published last Saturday by The Times in London.

The Ebury Spotlight publication, which officially launches on November 7, detailed how the current Japan boss, who is due to bring his team to London on November 24 to face Steve Borthwick’s England, ruled with an iron fist, leaving English players “desperate not to get dropped for all the wrong reasons, which made for a toxic environment”.

Care went on to reveal in the extract a myriad of examples of Jones’ behaviour and Woodward has now joined the debate in his latest Daily Mail column.

“It seems quite clear to me that the Jones era got out of hand, with players unable to say how they felt at the time and no senior figures at the RFU holding the head coach to account,” he claimed, believing he should have been fired after the 2019 Rugby World Cup final loss to South Africa in Yokohama.

“This reflects very, very poorly on those involved. Did the RFU know it was happening? Only they can answer that. But, knowing what we do now, it is astonishing English rugby’s bosses held a review into Jones’s coaching and decided to hand him a new contract.

“The RFU, in the interests of transparency, really should name the people who were involved in that review and came to that conclusion. If one thing can be learned from Care’s honest revelations of the Jones era, it is that regular checks and balances must be made on the international set-up.

“To do so is only healthy. It holds the leaders of the organisation to account and ensures the highest possible standards are maintained. I would also urge the players of today to find a voice, however difficult it can be.”