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Jones confident England are on the right path

England head coach Eddie Jones 20/11/2021
Head coach Eddie Jones has urged England supporters to stick with his team following their third-place finish in the 2022 Guinness Six Nations.

Head coach Eddie Jones has urged England supporters to stick with his team following their third-place finish in the 2022 Guinness Six Nations.

The English finished their campaign in with a 25-13 loss against Grand Slam winners France on Super Saturday to finish with a record of two wins and three defeats for the second year running.

Their tally of eight tries was their lowest in a single Six Nations since 2013, while their record in the past two Championships has increased the level of scrutiny on Jones, who has been in charge of the Red Rose since 2016.

Jones, however, saw plenty to be encouraged by in England’s performance at the Stade de France and is adamant that better times are ahead.

“They [England fans] have got to have some faith,” Jones said. “I think I have done a reasonable job for England over the past seven years.

“We are going through a period now where we are rebuilding the team and it takes time. Look at the French team, it took them three years to win the Championship.

“We have rebuilt the side from the last Six Nations. I think the progress is very positive. The results aren’t the results we would like.

“We would all like to be winning tournaments and be top of the table, but we are not quite good enough to do that now, but within the next 12 to 14 months when we prepare for the World Cup, we will be.”

The 2022 Guinness Six Nations was a first experience of playing in Rugby’s Greatest Championship for the likes of Marcus Smith, Freddie Steward, Harry Randall and Alex Dombrandt, players who Jones feels he can build the future around.

The man who has won three Six Nations Championships during his time with England also believes the public will start to see more progress during this summer’s tour of Australia now that his younger players are more bedded in.

Jones said: “The expectation is so high and you don’t get any latitude when you are bringing young players through, who tend to be more inconsistent as they learn their craft at international level.

“I couldn’t be more excited about the prospects for this team. The only thing I am worried about now is preparing for Australia.

“I think we have got 11 Tests before the World Cup, and that means Freddie [Steward] and guys like Marcus [Smith] and Harry Randall are going to increase their Test experience by a 100 per cent in that period.

“The timing for our team going into the World Cup I think is very good.”