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Ex-Ireland international suggests Eddie Jones' rise is nothing but 'luck'
By Ian Cameron
A controversial Irish columnist has suggested Eddie Jones' rise to the top with his Rugby World Cup finalist England team has relied more on luck than any other factor.
Former Irish international Neil Francais has said that Jones is in fact the unwitting beneficially of 'luck and providence'.
Francis infamously branded Warren Gatland as having the IQ of a tub of margarine, writing that the celebrated head coach had the “intellectual properties of a tub of flora”, just days before Wales went on to beat Ireland, denying the men in green a Grand Slam in 2015.
Now the former secondrow has claimed the England head coach has luck on his side, and underserved luck at that.
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Writing in The Irish Independent, Francis wrote: "Has England's progress come about as a result of Eddie's grand plan - minute application to detail and a scientific approach to getting his team right? Not a bit of it! Jones was just as bemused as the rest of us as his team lurched from championship winners to goofballs to contenders again.
"Luck and providence - not that he deserved any of it came swimming to his aid as he toiled in a sea of mediocrity.
"Many things have come right for him as a matter of course. It would have been interesting to see how well Ireland would have done that Paddy's Day weekend if England's back-row had been comprised of Sam Underhill, Tom Curry and Billy Vumipola. That back row almost alone is the reason why England are where they are.
"England's better players have also out-performed. Maro Itoje, Owen Farrell and Manu Tuilagi have been immense but England's march has been backboned by players who you would never have suspected would come to such prominence at exactly the right time."
Francis didn't stop there, saying the Australian was fortunate to get Joe Marler back for the Rugby World Cup and have his forward pack firing at the right time.
"Jones, too, has been lucky to get Joe Marler back from retirement and keep him on a tight leash. Mako Vunipola who tore his hamstring off the bone last May and has been not his best but is still very good. England were blessed to have him back.
"Jones, whether it was his direction, or just a little bit of interplanetary alignment has got his less obvious players to perform really well."
The former amateur era Leinster and Ireland lock signed off with: "I will, however, be metaphorically turning in my grave when Jones starts his victory speech!"
Steve Hansen, Richie Mo'unga and Aaron Smith spoke to the press ahead of their bronze medal play off game against Wales on Friday.
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Latest Comments
Nah, that just needs some more variation. Chip kicks, grubber stabs, all those. Will Jordan showed a pretty good reason why the rush was bad for his link up with BB.
If you have an overlap on a rush defense, they naturally cover out and out and leave a huge gap near the ruck.
It also helps if both teams play the same rules. ARs set the offside line 1m past where the last mans feet were😅
Go to commentsYeah nar, should work for sure. I was just asking why would you do it that way?
It could be achieved by outsourcing all your IP and players to New Zealand, Japan, and America, with a big Super competition between those countries raking it in with all of Australia's best talent to help them at a club level. When there is enough of a following and players coming through internally, and from other international countries (starting out like Australia/without a pro scene), for these high profile clubs to compete without a heavy australian base, then RA could use all the money they'd saved over the decades to turn things around at home and fund 4 super sides of their own that would be good enough to compete.
That sounds like a great model to reset the game in Aus. Take a couple of decades to invest in youth and community networks before trying to become professional again. I just suggest most aussies would be a bit more optimistic they can make it work without the two decades without any pro club rugby bit.
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