CHRIS FOY'S SIX NATIONS VERDICT: England try to move on from Jones

CHRIS FOY: England take steps to erase Eddie Jones’s tenure from Twickenham press room… and Johnny Sexton was pivotal in Ireland’s victory in Wales

  • England removed references to former coach Eddie Jones in the press room 
  • Johnny Sexton didn’t show any signs of rustiness in Ireland’s victory in Wales 
  • Tickets are still on sale for the clash between England and Italy at Twickenham

Ten weeks after England’s last fixture under Eddie Jones, the RFU had taken steps to move on from myriad memories of the Australian’s seven-year tenure as head coach of the national team. In the Twickenham press room, a wall full of pages depicting famous Red Rose feats has been updated to cover up all of the previous cuttings involving Jones.

England have removed references to former coach Eddie Jones in the Twickenham press room

Netflix given the cold shoulder 

Netflix are having mixed fortunes in trying to gather behind-the-scenes footage from this Six Nations, with some teams more accommodating than others. England are believed to be among the cautious majority, but Dan Cole is shaping up as a box-office hit. Asked what he brings to the squad, the veteran prop said, deadpan: ‘Probably my goal-kicking, charm, good looks…’

Bad luck of the Irish 

Andy Farrell is evidently trying to build Irish resilience in World Cup year, so he relished the hassles they faced in Cardiff. Having opted to keep the stadium roof shut, for maximum impact, their team bus was late arriving for the game and they lost Jamison Gibson-Park and Cian Healy to late injuries, but the world’s No 1-ranked side adapted impressively.

Italy are still a hard sell 

Tickets remain on sale for England against Italy at Twickenham this Sunday, which is surprising and unusual. Rome’s Olympic Stadium was barely half-full on Sunday for the visit of France, too. Convincing fans to watch this entertaining Azzurri team should not be a hard sell, especially with Ange Capuozzo scoring audacious tries.

Tickets are surprisingly still on sale for England’s clash against Ange Capuozzo’s Italy

Sexton defies his age 

Johnny Sexton didn’t look like a man who had not played since New Year’s Day, as he orchestrated Ireland’s win in Wales. Afterwards, he said it was the most nervous he had ever been before a game, but that wasn’t apparent either. Welsh fans raged at Sexton for faking a head injury, but he won’t care. At 37, the Irish captain is still going strong.

Johnny Sexton didn’t show any signs of rustiness as he helped Ireland to overcome Wales

Why, why, why axe Delilah? 

There was an outbreak of public defiance on Saturday in relation to the Welsh Rugby Union’s ban on Tom Jones song Delilah being played at the Principality Stadium, due to concerns over the lyrics. Fans sung it with gusto in the streets of Cardiff — and there were even pockets of English and Scottish fans singing it at Twickenham.

My team of the week 

Antoine Dupont of France is amongst the players to be included in my team of the week

Hugo Keenan (Ire), Ange Capuozzo (Ita), Ignacio Brex (Ita), Sione Tuipulotu (Sco), Duhan van der Merwe (Sco), Johnny Sexton (Ire), Antoine Dupont (Fra); Ellis Genge (Eng), Dan Sheehan (Ire), Kyle Sinckler (Eng), Richie Gray (Sco), James Ryan (Ire), Caelan Doris (Ire), Lorenzo Cannone (Ita), Luke Crosbie (Sco). 

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