England head coach Eddie Jones has fired back at the media following England’s 12-11 win over South Africa at Twickenham on Saturday.
England entered the game having lost six of their last seven matches, including two defeats on a three Test tour of South Africa in the summer, and the win over the Springboks relieved some of the pressure mounting on embattled coach Eddie Jones.
The Australian had led England on an 18-game winning streak to start his tenure as head coach and he insists that his team did not falter throughout the losing streak.
“Zero, mate,” Jones replied at the post-match press conference when asked if this was the most important win of his reign.
“The most important thing is what we do next. Like, I don’t understand this, guys. You know, we’re a bloody good team, we’ve lost a few games, we played tough today and we won.
“Why has it got to be the most important game? Because you guys want to sack me, is that why? Well, you’re going to do it at some stage – you know that, you know that. If I stay long enough, you’re going to get me sacked, so you’ll be happy.
“One day you’ll be happy here, boys. You’ll come in and say ‘ ah, fantastic, we’ve got another bloke we can terrorise’.
“Don’t worry about it. It was a good Test match game of rugby today. We’re happy, they’re (South Africa) not so happy. We’re going to start preparing for New Zealand.”
England prevailed over the Springboks thanks to a late penalty from Owen Farrell and a late miss from South African fly-half Handre Pollard.
The Bulls playmaker hit the post from a late penalty and nearly had another chance to win the game after Owen Farrell had tackled Andre Esterhuizen with his shoulder first.
🏴Controversial end to England's win🏴
Should this have been a @Springboks penalty at the end of the game❓#ENGVRSA #FollowTheRose @EnglandRugby @Springboks pic.twitter.com/377FUxSYnQ
— Sky Sports Rugby Union (@SkySportsRugby) November 3, 2018
Referee Angus Gardener was happy that Farrell had attempted to wrap his arms before the collision and Jones laughed off suggestions that his fly-half could be cited.
“You can get cited for something you did at a party when you were 15, anything could happen,” the former Wallabies coach added. “I’ve got no idea what can happen.”
