Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

The end of the Eddie Jones era

(Photos by David Rogers and Alex Davidson - RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

Eddie Jones seven-year run as head coach will be heralded as a great period for England rugby, with three Six Nations titles, a Grand Slam and a World Cup final appearance in 2019.

ADVERTISEMENT

The excellence of the England side through 2016-2020 is the legacy Jones will leave, the period where all of the aforementioned success was captured. An 18-Test winning streak spoke magnitudes of greatness.

He leaves with an exceptional winning rate of 74 per cent over his tenure. Jones deserves a healthy amount of credit for leading them through this prosperous period, but it was not all down to Eddie’s methods. The success goes beyond one head coach.

Video Spacer
Video Spacer

Despite the 2015 calamity at the home World Cup, Jones’ arrival was the perfect time to take the reins of English rugby. It looked bleak at the time, but below the surface England were about to enjoy riches and Jones must have known that when he took up the position.

From 2011 to 2015, the England under-20 (U20) side reached four finals at the World Championships and won two titles at the age grade level. Over the same period, they took home four of five possible U20 Six Nations titles.

A golden generation was on the precipice of breaking through to international rugby, with players like Owen Farrell, Elliot Daly, George Ford, Mako Vunipola from the first crop in 2011.

Jack Nowell, Anthony Watson, Henry Slade, Luke Cowan-Dickie all were champions in the 2013 U20 side, the 2014 champions included Maro Itoje. From 2016 to 2018 the England U20 side made three more finals and won another World Championship title in 2016.

ADVERTISEMENT

Across the 2010s decade they made seven finals and won three World Rugby U20 championships.

England were always going to be in a healthy position for the 2019 Rugby World Cup based on the success of their U20 programme. The system was producing the world’s best or near world’s best age grade talent for an entire decade.

Most of this generation would peak or be close to peaking with the right mix of experience and athleticism at the 2019 World Cup.

That pipeline of talent flowed into the Premiership where two juggernauts grew, Exeter Chiefs and Saracens, the latter becoming a dominant European force that captured three crowns in the Champions Cup before the salary cap scandal tore them apart.

The England side was built on the back of a strong Saracens core with sprinklings of other generational talent around them, many already world champions at age grade level.

ADVERTISEMENT

They were always going to be successful to a degree with a coach of the calibre of Eddie Jones, it was just a question of how much silverware would they fill the cupboards with when the sun was shining and whether they take home the trophy wife of trophies, the Rugby World Cup.

England’s slide over the last two years has coincided with the rise of France and Ireland as the world’s best two teams, who coincidently started to take the titles away from England a few years ago at U20 level.

The tide was turning underneath England and Jones, while his generation of stars started hitting the twilight years post-2019.

France’s U20 side won two straight World Championship titles in 2018 and 2019, which is still the last edition of the tournament played since the pandemic.

Closer to home in Europe the Six Nations U20 tournament has continued, where France have won one title and been runners-up four times over the last five U20 Six Nations.

Ireland have captured two Grand Slam Six Nations titles at this level in the last five years, in 2019 and 2022, and would have potentially had a third in 2020 but the tournament was cancelled.

They were three from three at the time, having already secured a triple crown over Scotland, Wales and England. Only France stood in the way of another U20 Six Nations title.

England managed to win an U20 Six Nations title in 2021, the first since 2017, but over the last five year period it has been all about Ireland and France.

Which to no surprise, is now playing out at the top level as France became a Grand Slam-winning side in 2022 and put together a perfect Test season. Ireland have beaten everyone except France in the last two years.

Eddie Jones is the gravitational force that pulls in media attention and spits out endless headlines, becoming larger than the side itself at times. It is great entertainment for the game, who needs characters like Jones.

But he gets too much blame when they lose and too much credit when they win. He was sitting at the top of perhaps the greatest conveyor belt of talent in England Rugby’s history over the decade leading up to the 2019 World Cup.

Many believe Jones deserved to see things out through to the 2023 World Cup with his multi-year ‘plan’ still in progress, which is a fair conclusion.

There might have been one last ‘squeeze’ from England’s 2010s generation with the favourable draw, but that looked increasingly unlikely with five wins from 12 tests this year.

But it’s not just about winning three knockout games every four years for the RFU, it’s about everything else in between as well. The writing has been on the wall for England for two years.

The bigger picture is England have lost footing with Ireland and France in Europe, and no ‘grand plan’ from Jones for the 2023 World Cup would change that fact.

England will be fine without Jones once they rebuild the pipeline to produce champion U20 teams again, and Jones will be fine without England when he finds another high performing development system to coach in.

 

ADVERTISEMENT

Boks Office | Episode 36 | Six Nations Round 3 Review

England A vs Ireland A | Full Match Replay

HSBC SVNS Vancouver | Men's Day Three Highlights

HSBC SVNS Vancouver | Women's Day Three Highlights

"I would love to play with Siya Kolisi" | HSBC Life on Tour | Vancouver

Kubota Spears vs Shizuoka BlueRevs | JRLO 2024/2025 | Full Match Replay

Behind the Scenes with the Stars of the Kenya Rugby Sevens Team | HSBC SVNS Embedded | Episode 7

O2 Inside Line: This Rose | Episode 3 | France Week

Watch now: Lomu - The Lost Tapes

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
JW 1 hour ago
Where is the new breed of All Black 10?

LOL angry at what? You trying to put words into peoples mouths with your wild theories? No I’m well used to that by now mate.

ou should stop making silly comments like ‘a very small set of examples’ if you don’t want ppl to call you out and start taking you seriously!

I have no idea what you’re talking about.

FYI he’s started at 10 53 times since 2020/21 in all comps.

Yes, as I’ve said. 38 of those times were (SR) after Mo’unga left for Japan, and possibly even the 8 times for Waikato (even though on a ‘sabbatical’ he was still made to play NPC after returning from Japan for some reason) were because NZR told him he had to switch because Richie was leaving.


I can’t really make sense of what you’re trying to argue but all I can think I said was;

He’s only got a very small set of examples so understandable people don’t immediately adjust to him as the best in the world

I’m referring to international fans, who are only really going to watch the All Blacks, so yes, it’s them trying to compare his games last year to what they imagine he played like as a fullback for so long. Outside that, he’s played say now 45 odd times since he made the switch, and only 30 odd (thanks to a full SR season there) of the past 150 before that, you’re idea that it makes him a first five and therefor not still learning, is “entirely false”


If you want people to start taking you seriously Nick you really need to up your debating game! No seriously though I know I like to avoid explaining things for dummies but you very rarely have the right take on any of my theories, you’ve just got you’re own angle that takes over, so don’t expect to be able to debate much (as it will be by yourself basically lol). I suspect it’s something to do with needing to keep a lot of things in your mind for your articles that it’s probably impossible for you to just listen and not introduce outside noise, so no biggie.

162 Go to comments
J
Jacob Brown 1 hour ago
Crusaders prepare for 'dangerous in all elements' Chiefs game-breaker

Never have I  ever missed my favorite crypto podcast. There was this one episode where the guest was over the moon about Asset Rescue Specialist. I made a mental note, never thinking that I would ever need them. That changed when a malware attack wiped my $500,000 wallet clean. One minute I was going through my portfolio; the next, it was zero. My heart sank. I checked everything: my security logs, transaction history, even my device settings. That is when I saw it: unauthorized transfers draining my entire balance. Panic hit hard.I scrambled for solutions, frantically searching through forums, threads on Reddit, and tech support pages. But deep down, I knew this wasn't something so simple to fix. Then, in the middle of my chaos, that podcast episode remembered itself. He spoke of Asset Rescue Specialist with such confidence that I decided to trust his experience.It was one of the smartest things I could have done, reaching out to Asset Rescue Specialist. Since the very first message, they were calm, methodical, and reassuring. They made all the right questions and quickly diagnosed how the malware had invaded my wallet. Their team dove head-first into an advanced forensic recovery process while teaching me what went wrong.I was skeptical: how do you reverse a theft that's already happened? But they knew what they were doing. Their precision, their expertise, and just the determination to see it through blew me away. Then, the message changed everything: "We've recovered your funds." I couldn’t believe it. My $500,000 was back. My relief was indescribable. They didn’t just stop there—they fortified my security, patched vulnerabilities, and gave me a plan to ensure this never happens again.That podcast episode? Changed my life. Never thought casual listening would save my portfolio. Now, I don't listen for insights but for survival tips. And for whoever reads, let me share a piece of advice: you needn't wait for the worst to happen. Know who you are going to call before it's time.FOR MORE INFO:Company: ASSET RESCUE SPECIALISTWebsite info; https://assetrescuespecialist.com mail: assetrescuespecialist@qualityservice.com orsupport@assetrescuespecialist.com.WhatsApp:+ 1 9 0 3 5 5 9 1 7 3 3. 

4 Go to comments
LONG READ
LONG READ The Springbok selection experiment is far from over The Springbok selection experiment is far from over
Search