International Rugby

England head coach Eddie Jones opens up on why he sometimes ‘paints a picture’ to opponents

Eddie Jones has hung out the bait to Warren Gatland and Michael Cheika in the past

by
The Rugby Paper Team
8 February 2020

England head coach Eddie Jones has gone into deeper detail about why he makes inflammatory comments in the days leading up to a Test match.

Just last week Jones had made a pre-match promise to France that they would face ‘brutal physicality’ in their Six Nations opener in Paris.

Comments which backfired as Les Bleus raced into a 17-0 lead by half-time, and had France No.8 Gregory Alldritt reveal afterwards that it helped the team to find ‘fighting spirit’.

It wasn’t the first time Jones has used his platform with the press in the days prior to a match to stir headlines.

At last year’s World Cup, Jones accused South Africa of spying on England training sessions from a high-rise building block in the run-up to their semi-final with the All Blacks.

“You are not only fooling yourself but cheating the whole world,” Jones said at the time of the team they would subsequently meet in the final.

As well as lumping pressure on Wales in last year’s Six Nations by labelling Warren Gatland’s side as the ‘greatest Wales side ever’, before adding “that’s what we are hearing, we’ll take it at face value.”

Probed by BBC Sport’s Sonja McLaughlan as to why he makes such comments, Jones was pressed for an answer and eventually offered a glimpse.

“I enjoy doing it,” Jones said.

“Like, it’s easy not to say anything. But I think you’ve got a responsibility to create the theatre of the game.

“To paint a picture of how you want your players to play and sometimes to paint a picture to the opposition. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.”