RFU backs Jones after raising issues over behaviour

LONDON: Head coach Eddie Jones has the backing of the Rugby Football Union (RFU) though they did raise issues surrounding his confronting South Africa fans on the three Test tour which England lost 2-1.

England’s victory in the final Test ended a run of five successive defeats which had seen them lose their Six Nations crown — Ireland achieving the Grand Slam in beating the English at Twickenham — and pressure mount on the combative Australian.

However, despite this with the World Cup in Japan a year away RFU chief executive Steve Brown told the BBC Jones’s overall record — he delivered a Grand Slam within months of replacing Stuart Lancaster following the humiliating first round exit in the 2015 World Cup — stood him in good stead.

Jones confronted South African fans after England’s 42-39 first Test loss to the Springboks in June — England let slip a 21 point lead — declaring to Sky Sports “They always have something to say here,” and when asked had he replied in kind answered: “Of course I did.” “We have discussed specific incidents that have occurred and talked about how they can be handled moving forward,” said Brown.