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Rugby

17th Mar 2018

Twitter tears into Eddie Jones after Ireland’s Grand Slam-clinching Twickenham triumph

Matthew Gault

Eddie Jones

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.

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.”