Your rugby headlines for Sunday, July 17 as the fallout begins from a busy weekend of big games.
Eddie's angry 'Come here and say it' exchange with Wallaby fan
Eddie Jones was involved in an angry confrontation with an Australia fan after being called a "traitor" at Saturday's 21-17 victory at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Footage posted on social media shows England's head coach being baited by a man wearing a Wallabies cap and holding a pint of beer. The supporter points a finger at Jones as he walks on to the pitch and says "you're a traitor" twice, provoking a furious reaction.
READ MORE: Wales Grand Slam captain Ryan Jones reveals he has early onset dementia at 41
Jones stalks over to the stand and replies "come here and say it" three times, causing the surprised fan to back off, and is then ushered away by a member of the ground's security staff.
The security guard can he heard saying to the fan "I have spoken to you before".
It is understood that Jones, an Australian who coached the Wallabies from 2001 to 2005, was subjected to hostile abuse when walking to and from the coaches' box with the layout at the SCG meaning he had to pass through sections of the home crowd.
"Clowns think they have full go to abuse coaches," Jones told the Sydney Morning Herald when asked about the incident.
The Rugby Football Union and Australian Rugby Union have been contacted for a response.
A week ago Jones spoke of how he took satisfaction from silencing Australia fans through England's 25-17 victory in the second Test at Suncorp Stadium, although it is understood he did not receive the same level of abuse in Brisbane.
"You have got 48,000 people all full of drink and all they want to see is their team win. When you turn them away, it's a great experience. A great feeling," Jones said.
"I was coming out from the coaches' box and they all have their scarves on. When did Australians start wearing scarves? It's all the rage isn't it? They are not so smart now.
"Before the game they are coming up saying to me you are going to get belted tonight. Now they are a little bit more quiet. So that's good. I enjoy that."
Jones' experience of abuse from fans is not limited to Australia, however. He has also been involved in previous incidents involving South Africa and Scotland supporters.
Worst New Zealand side in history claim
The fallout has started from New Zealand's summer defeat to Ireland as pressure grows on coach Ian Foster ahead of next year's World Cup.
New Zealand rugby chief Mark Robinson has labelled the 2-1 loss as 'unacceptable' and admitted: "We know there is a huge amount of work to do. Our focus is to work with Ian and his team to understand thoroughly in advance of the Rugby Championship what is needed to improve performance and where to go from here.
“We will begin this work immediately.”
It is the first time the All Blacks lost a home rubber in almost three decades and they have failed to win four out of their last five games. Foster is adamant he is the right man to turn around those fortunes, but questions are being raised elsewhere as pundits react angrily to what has just happened.
New Zealand legend Sean Fitzpatrick said: "Have they got a team that’s capable of winning the World Cup? On what we’ve seen in the last two weeks, you would doubt that.
"The questions will be asked: have they the right coaches? Have they the right head coach? We were outcoached, without question.
“The All Blacks used to worry about peaking too early before the World Cup, so at least that is no longer a concern. And when you consider the following facts it is difficult to see how Foster keeps his job.”
Senior New Zealand sports commentator Mark Hinton wrote, "A coaching change must now be considered, at the very least. Ian Foster’s hold on his job must be tenuous at best."
RNZ writer Jamie Wall reckoned the defeat represented ”a solid case for the worst All Black side” in history.
Foster declined to address his future after the game, saying: “I just want to talk about this Test match,” despite being asked on a number of occasions if he remained the right man to lead the team into the World Cup.
Biggar insists Wales strides made
Wales captain Dan Biggar insists strides have been made during the summer tour to South Africa despite the 2-1 loss.
"I think if you look at the tour in general to get a win over here, no Welsh team has done that, so that’s a huge sort of tick," said Biggar as he reflected upon the third Test defeat in Cape Town.
"I think we were unlucky not to win the first Test, pinched the second one late on, but overall I think it's been a really positive tour. We've brought through some new caps as well and just probably from where we’ve come from at the end of the Six Nations.
"We're disappointed not to have picked up a series win because we felt coming into this it was right there for the taking, but we fell a little bit short at the end of a long season.
"We’ve said these are the standards that we set ourselves as opposed to where we probably fell off a bit towards the end of the Six Nations, and it’s important that we don’t slip off from that.
"When we sit back, when we enjoy our holidays in a few weeks we’ll look back on the tour with some real fond memories. Picking up a win was huge, and playing some really good rugby and being competitive is going to set us in good stead."
Townsend on Scots' loss
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend said he was proud of his players despite a series defeat in Argentina in the final seconds of their tour.
Scotland led by 15 points in the third Test decider after try doubles from Duhan van der Merwe and Ewan Ashman. But the hosts fought back and Edinburgh winger Emiliano Boffelli went over after the 80-minute mark before sealing a 34-31 win by converting his own try.
Townsend told Sky Sports: "We are obviously really disappointed because we were ahead for most of the game and we had chances. I really feel for the players because so much of their display was full of courage and skill.
"It was our best display of the tour and would have been a famous win but the feelings just are the opposite of that. The way we played away home in front of noisy crowd, against a very good side, I am so proud of that effort.
"We just need to make sure we win those games that we dominate."
Wales Grand Slam skipper's sad news
Wales Grand Slam captain Ryan Jones has revealed he has been diagnosed with early-onset dementia at the age of 41.
The 75-cap forward, who also played in three Lions Tests on the 2005 tour of New Zealand, opened up on his condition in an emotional interview with The Times.
“I feel like my world is falling apart. And I am really scared. I don’t know what the future holds," he says.
“I am a product of an environment that is all about process and human performance. I’m not able to perform like I could. I can’t train harder, I can’t play the referee, I don’t know what the rules of the game are anymore.”
Jones, who skippered Wales 33 times, received the diagnosis of probable chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in December, being told he was one of one of the worst cases the specialists had seen.
“Whether it was partner or family, they were noticing changes in me. I was diagnosed with depression and I started to realise that some of my cognitive function wasn’t great. I began to see that my short-term memory wasn’t great. I was forgetting things,” he said.
Jones, who resigned from his post as WRU Performance Director in October 2020, said: “It terrifies me because I don’t know if, in two years’ time, we’re sat here and these episodes are a week long, two weeks long or permanent. That’s the fear, that’s the bit that never leaves. That’s the bit I can’t shake off.
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