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'English fans will certainly give him the respect he deserves'
By PA
Jamie George has braced England to face the unexpected when Eddie Jones returns to Twickenham in Sunday’s climax to the Autumn Nations Series.
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For the first time since he was sacked in 2022, Jones will come up against the side he coached for seven years on their home turf as he plots a famous upset for his Japan team.
England are overwhelming favourites to end their five-Test losing run against opponents ranked 13th in the world, but George insists Jones is capable of ripping up the script.
“Eddie’s a master at getting teams up for big games and is going to have Japan as well prepared as he possibly can,” the England captain said.
“I know that for him in particular, but for most teams around the world, playing England at the Allianz Stadium is a big game. He will be hugely excited about it and will be desperate for a win.
“We’re going to expect the unexpected because that’s the sort of innovative coach that Eddie is.
“We’re excited and are looking forward to catching up with him afterwards. But ultimately, the niceties go away when it comes to game day and you want a result.
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“We are going into this game knowing that we need a result and we’re going out there to win.”
Jones coached the Barbarians against a World XV at Twickenham last year but Sunday is his first match against England at the venue since a dismal run of results forced the Rugby Football Union to act at the same stage in 2022.
The 64-year-old Australian is returning under a cloud following claims by Danny Care that he oversaw a “toxic” environment, with the Harlequins scrum-half adding that “everyone was bloody terrified of him”.
The allegations have yet to be addressed by Jones, but he still retains the highest win ratio of any England coach with 73 per cent in 81 Tests. What reception he receives from red rose fans remains to be seen, however.
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“Eddie did a huge amount and I respect him massively as a coach. Some of the things he achieved with the England team were fantastic,” George said.
“I know lots of people have been outspoken about the way he went about things and they are very much entitled to their opinion, but the English fans will certainly give him the respect he deserves.
“The fans would have seen the amount of effort that he put into the English game.”
A disappointing autumn has seen New Zealand, Australia and South Africa prevail at Twickenham to plunge head coach Steve Borthwick’s win ratio below 50 per cent in his two years in charge.
Adding to the frustration is that on each occasion England were leading into the final quarter.
“We are as frustrated as anyone in terms of the results we’ve had,” George said.
“You take the Australia game out and there are large parts of the New Zealand and South Africa performances that were very good. We didn’t win but we gave ourselves opportunities to win both of those games.
“It’s been frustrating, but the message I get from fans and people who care about this team is that they are seeing our endeavour, effort and physicality and how much we are fronting up in games.
“It’s very important for us to deliver results to the fans because they’ve been very loyal to us. It’s time for us to step up and do that.”
Go behind the scenes of both camps during the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa in 2021. Binge watch exclusively on RugbyPass TV now
