sport news MIKE BROWN: England coach Eddie Jones has created an environment of fear... ... trends now
I've spoken to a lot of people in and around the England set-up and it feels like it is time for change. Eddie Jones has lost the support of the public and it’s hard to see how he can turn that around.
As far as talent goes, there’s no reason why England shouldn’t be fighting with the likes of Ireland, France and South Africa. He’s not getting the best out of his resources and he’s run out of excuses.
Eddie is an experienced coach and, from my own experience, what he does on the grass is good. His tactical and technical knowledge is second to none, but that only gets you so far. Rugby players have changed a lot over the last decade and the environment coaches create is more important than ever.
Eddie Jones has lost the support of the public and it’s hard to see how he can turn that around
Speaking from my own experiences and hearing from others, the England team is an environment of fear. Players are scared of making mistakes and I believe that reflects what is delivered on the pitch. Things like kicking the ball out when you’re drawing with 14-man All Blacks and have all the momentum, in what is effectively a friendly, is an example of that.
Eddie’s the leader of that environment. Why have there not been more questions asked about the massive turnover of staff? In any other business sphere that would be a red flag. You hear of guys signing NDAs [non-disclosure agreements] when they leave their posts. Why don’t they want them to talk? Whenever a coach moves on it is always presented as a success story for England’s production line. You don’t take on a job with England to use it as a leg up for something. It’s one of the top jobs in rugby.
Why do they keep wanting to leave? Why did former England hockey coach Danny Kerry want to leave a few days into his job as training coordinator this autumn? All of these little stories add up. It’s glaringly obvious there’s a problem with staff churn and that starts with the leader.
Culture of fear led to England kicking the ball out when drawing with 14-man New Zealand
No one has ever investigated that or held him to account and it sounds like the penny has finally dropped. We’re all bored of hearing Eddie come out and say, ‘It’s all my fault, I take full responsibility’, when they have a bad defeat because it’s an inconsequential soundbite. His go-to line. We had some great results during his early
