Eddie Jones has been sacked by the RFU after seven years as England head coach.
The no-nonsense Australian retained a 73 per cent win record, despite England producing just five victories in 12 Tests in a difficult 2022.
Jones’ tenure was punctuated by a host of highs but also no lack of lows, as Nick Purewal examines here for Standard Sport.
Highs
Midas touch for immediate Grand Slam
Jones took the reins after Stuart Lancaster had presided over England’s worst-ever World Cup performance, in 2015. The former Japan boss had an immediate impact, inspiring England to their first Six Nations Grand Slam since 2003. Jones had restored England’s abrasive spirit, culminating in the 32-21 win over France in Paris to seal the clean sweep.
Wallabies whitewash
England equalled the record Test match winning run of 17 victories en route to a 3-0 series victory in Australia in the summer of 2016. Jones relished taking on his compatriots, revelling in dishing out as well as receiving all the verbal brickbats. Australia had reached the 2015 World Cup final, but England swatted them aside as Jones cemented control.
All-out assault on the All Blacks
Jones masterminded one of England’s greatest-ever victories, the 19-7 dismantling of New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup semi-final in Japan. England stunned the double defending champions with a performance of force, accuracy and flair, to power into the final.
Lows
Six Nations also-rans in 2021
England opened their 2021 Six Nations campaign with a shock Twickenham defeat at the hands of Scotland. Any hopes of a recovery were dashed by defeats in Wales and Ireland, in a distinctly below-par campaign. England backed Jones after the tournament, but this would prove his last reprieve.
Falling under the South African yoke in Yokohama
Scrum cornerstone Kyle Sinckler’s early head injury set a terrible tone for England, and Jones’ men never recovered. England had powered past New Zealand in the semi-final but were overrun by the Springboks when it mattered most. South Africa’s 32-12 win has had England looking for answers ever since, and even now has played a part in Jones’ departure.
The final straw
England’s wretched 2022 finished in the most dispiriting style, with a comprehensive 27-13 defeat at the hands of South Africa seeing the team booed off the Twickenham field. Jones would pay with his job for just one win in four matches across the autumn campaign. Jones insisted “I don’t care what people think” in response to the Springboks defeat, but it turned out the RFU did, and unseated him almost 11 months before the end of his contract.
