'Eddie should look at himself' - Danny Cipriani slams Jones

Danny Cipriani has fired off at England head coach Eddie Jones – who last weekend took the English private school system to task over creating compliant rugby players.

Jones suggested that England – who have a roughly 50-50 split between private and state schools players – don’t adapt on the pitch as the privately educated players are not used to making decisions for themselves in pressure situations.

“They work hard but they only know what they know. If you have only been in a system where you get to 15, you have a bit of rugby ability and then go to Harrow,” said in an interview with iNews. “Then for two years you do nothing but play rugby, everything’s done for you. That’s the reality. You have this closeted life. When things go to crap on the field who’s going to lead because these blokes have never had experience of it?”

Now former England player Cipriani – who won a handful of caps under Jones but who never won the confidence of the Australian rugby guru – has hit back at his former boss’ comments in the interview.

“The reason Eddie is not getting the type of players he says he wants is because of the environment he creates with England and not the schooling system. That is an easy target,” Cipriani stated in his Daily Mail column. “I’d like to think I come from a middle ground and a neutral perspective on this topic. I grew up on a council estate but was fortunate to be able to attend private schools on scholarships because of my ability in rugby and other sports.”

The former Wasps, Bath, Sale Sharks, Gloucester and Melbourne Rebels star said Jones should take a look at the environment he has created in the England setup.

“Eddie should look at himself rather than criticise others. The environment you create as a coach is reflected by the performance of your team and players. If a coach creates a decision-making environment which allows his or her players to problem solve, have an input on how the team is run, and is self-reflective of his or her own performance, then their side’s ability to react under pressure will grow. Eddie does not do that.

“When the team loses, Eddie points the finger elsewhere. The situations he creates in training are all about generating quick ball. If the ball is not quick, then he turns it over. The bigger question is: can your attacking framework create quick ball? Again, to be clear, this is not down to their education but is the fault of the England set-up, driven by Jones as head coach.”

Jones comments have irked many, not just Cipriani. World Cup winning head coach Sir Clive Woodward wrote: “The former Wasps, Bath, Sale Sharks, Gloucester and Melbourne Rebels star said Jones should take a look at the environment he has created in the England setup.”

He was also informally rebuked by the RFU by telephone after the union took him to task for the remarks.