Eddie Jones jokes of Rassie Erasmus-style tirade after Scotland Six Nations loss

02/06/2022

It's not often Eddie Jones is in a joking mood after watching his teams lose, but even England 's head coach found some light relief in the wake of Saturday's Six Nations defeat to Scotland.

Having finished fifth in last year's competition, England started their 2022 campaign with a 20-17 loss in Edinburgh, recording consecutive defeats to the Scots for the first time since 1984.

A penalty try after Ben White's debut score and six points from the boot of Finn Russell were enough to clinch the win, while Marcus Smith impressed as he produced all 17 of England's points.

And yet Jones managed to find room for levity in his post-match autopsy, jesting that referee Ben O'Keeffe would be subject to a Rassie Erasmus-esque video rant following the result.

O'Keeffe turned down English appeals for a stoppage-time penalty due to the numerous scrum resets that occurred just inside the Scottish half.

Seemingly intent not to end the game with a penalty, New Zealander O'Keeffe gave the set piece numerous opportunities to restart despite evidence to suggest England deserved the whistle (perhaps more than once).

"It was three points at the end and the referee becomes pretty influential in those situations," Jones said after Saturday's defeat.

"I’m just preparing a video mate, so you’ll have to wait for it. Wait for the video mate, we’ve got the production team on it now. It’s called 'Rassie in Love With'. That’s my production team, so I’m getting it ready mate."

The joke was in reference to South Africa director of rugby Erasmus, who featured in an hour-long video criticising the officials after his side lost their first Test to the British and Irish Lions last summer.

Erasmus highlighted more than two dozen refereeing decisions and incidents that he felt unfairly went against his side, leading to widespread criticism and an eventual World Rugby suspension from his duties with the Springboks.

One could easily argue the video had its desired effect, as the officiating became a tense battleground for the remainder of the Lions series, which South Africa ultimately came from behind to win.

Erasmus' reputation will forever be tarnished as a result of his antics, however, and Jones is too wise a character to not learn from his peer's mistakes.

There may well be temptation to lash out on the England chief's part, although he'll also be fully aware his side committed their fair share of errors to make them culpable for the loss to Scotland.

The decision to kick for touch and not look to draw level with a kick at goal from another penalty minutes prior, for example, is one that may come back to haunt England in regards to any Six Nations title aspirations.

And Jones wasn't free of blame himself as many questioned the coach's decision to take Smith off in place of George Ford, who earned his first cap in almost a year after being recalled to replace the injured Owen Farrell.

"They should have won comfortably yet lost because of the mystifying nonsensical substitutions in the second half by Eddie Jones," Sir Clive Woodward wrote for the Daily Mail .

"Why is the game and Jones particularly obsessed with this concept of finishers? Please somebody enlighten me, I don’t understand it. I need help here. Keep your best players on the park."

While there may be a temptation to air any grievances in the public arena, the rugby world at large will know Erasmus' example is not one to be mimicked, particularly by a Six Nations coach and two-time Rugby World Cup finalist.

The temptation to hit record should be alleviated when England travel to face Italy next Saturday, presenting a prime opportunity for Jones & Co. to overcome their Scottish setback.

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