This was always going to happen.
The ruthless, cut-throat world of social media tore straight into Eddie Jones after his England side failed to stop Ireland from winning the Grand Slam at Twickenham.
England fell to a third successive defeat, losing 15-24 to Joe Schmidt’s men to bring the curtain down on a championship that has gone badly off the rails for Jones’ side.
Of course, while much of the focus in the Irish camp remained on the quest for supremacy leading up to the game, Jones’ week was mired in controversy after video footage emerged of the England coach making a tongue-in-cheek reference to the ‘scummy Irish.’
Jones apologised for any offence caused by his remarks, which were made last July, but it certainly added another layer of spice to a rivalry already brimming with intensity.
As it were, England were unable to stop Ireland from running riot in London on St Patrick’s Day. When the final whistle blew and Ireland were confirmed as Grand Slam winners, Twitter sought to rub salt in the wounds of Jones, bringing to an end a week he’ll certainly not want to remember.
The “s#%^*+ Irish” will have some Craic in London tonight
☘️☘️🏆 pic.twitter.com/y69GLbxlKD— Simon Zebo (@SimonZebo) March 17, 2018
Any word yet from Eddie Jones? #IreVsEng #StPatricksDay pic.twitter.com/gwcVyEA7bO
— Owen O'Shea (@OwenOShea) March 17, 2018
Hey Eddie Jones!!! You silly wee scamp.. Jog on. #GrandSlam pic.twitter.com/QxEyQ4gX0j
— johnny allen (@johnoftheallens) March 17, 2018
Watched the game at home alone. Just want to run outside and grab someone and shout “holy shit did you see that #IREvENG #SixNations #sixnations2018 🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪PS tell Eddie Jones he’s a bollox 👍
— 𝐵𝓇𝒾𝒶𝓃 𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝒾𝑔𝒶𝓃 (@Irish_Rambler) March 17, 2018
Choke on that Eddie Jones. https://t.co/CCU6BHSJYY
— Ger Tuohy 🇮🇪 (@Regyouth) March 17, 2018
Dear Eddie Jones,
We just Grand Slammed your ass
Love,
The Scummy Irish#ENGvIRL
— Will Leahy (@willleahy) March 17, 2018
Dear the 'scummy irish'….
Congratulations on your GrandSlam and thank you so much for putting Eddie Jones in his place. Lots of love 'that shitty little place called Wales😂😂😂🙌🙌🙌👏👏👏 #ENGvIRE— Giuliano Di Battista (@Gulesboooooy) March 17, 2018
Well Eddie Jones. What you make of the scummy Irish ☘️ now? 🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪
— Killeavy13 (@StevenMcD13) March 17, 2018
Dear Eddie Jones,
Thanks very much for your motivational speech.
The lads clearly loved it.
Yours sincerely,
Brad
Proud Scummy Irish Rugby Supporter
XxxxX☘️🏉☘️🏉☘️🏉☘️🏉☘️🏉☘️🏉☘️#TeamOfUs #ShoulderToShoulder #4ProudProvinces pic.twitter.com/fMMd2IzKDN
— Glenn Bradley (@BradleyGJ) March 17, 2018
Terrible to imagine to pain Eddie Jones could feel, losing to the “scummy Irish” at home, and possible finishing below “shitty little” Wales in the table. Bonus point against them now Ireland please 🙏🏻 #ENGvIRE
— Adam Tomas (@adzthomas) March 17, 2018
In fairness to Jones, while he may not be the most popular figure in Ireland, he was commendably gracious in defeat.
“I thought our players really stuck at it but we gave them too big a lead,” he said post-match. “It’s obviously disappointing but you go through these little runs and the only way you get out of it is by sticking to the process and focusing on what you need to improve.
“We’ve just got to keep working at our game, keep looking at how we can improve it. As I said, this is quite natural for a team to go through. It’s not good, but it’s natural. We gave them too many penalties at the beginning of the game which allowed them to gain such a big lead. They’re a good, tough team. They’re well-coached and very well disciplined. They play to their strengths and are very worthy Grand Slam winners.”
“It’s disappointing, there was no lack of effort but we struggled to execute at times.”
