World Cup-winning former England coach Clive Woodward has taken another swipe at Eddie Jones and the RFU, accusing them of forming an “old boys’ club”.
Jones has come under fire as England head coach after presiding over another Six Nations campaign that did not meet expectations.
England’s 25-13 loss to France in the final round of the tournament had them finishing 15 points behind the Grand Slam champions, having won just two of their five games.
It is the third time in five years that England have lost three of their five fixtures, a poor return for one of the most well-resourced nations in Test rugby.
However, a spokesperson for Jones’ paymasters at England’s governing Rugby Football Union said later on Sunday they continued to “fully support” the veteran coach.
In a column for the Daily Mail, Woodward slammed both the RFU and Jones, accusing the latter’s friendship with CEO Bill Sweeney as a conflict of interest.
“I fear we are witnessing a return of the RFU old boys’ club – or the ‘old farts’ as Will Carling famously described them – as they try to close down legitimate debate on Eddie Jones’ future,” Woodward writes.
“On Sunday, Twickenham cranked out a remarkable press release just hours after England had lost in Paris, their third defeat of the Six Nations. They also lost three of five games last season, lest we forget. In the press release, he or she – we have no idea who it is, only an RFU spokesperson which is just so gutless – stated that the RFU were ‘encouraged by England’s solid progress’, a frankly absurd comment that has been rightly ridiculed.
“Later in Sunday’s press release, it mentioned the infamous anonymous panel of so-called rugby experts who will review England’s season – as they did last year’s disastrous campaign, when their main findings seemed to be the need for a referee at England sessions and a sports psychologist, both of which were in place 20 years ago!
“The panel apparently meets mid-season. Really? How does that work? Are its discussions minuted and its advice passed on to Eddie and promptly acted on? And will they meet again to review this season and interview people?
“Who are these people on the panel who are considered capable of quizzing Eddie on how to run a World Cup-winning team? What is the level of their expertise? Are some of them RFU employees who perhaps owe their job to Eddie’s influence and backing?
“Most importantly, why are they anonymous? Being invited on to this panel should be a feather in their caps, something to be proud of. You sometimes wonder if these people even exist.
“I would bet a lot of money that this is once again a hornet’s nest of serious conflicts of interest, put together by Jones and his mate Sweeney. A PR stunt to keep everyone quiet. It has badly backfired and I am disappointed the RFU Council has not demanded to know chapter and verse about all of this. Let’s have some honesty and some real transparency here, this is the national governing body!”
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