England star claims Eddie Jones ‘didn’t give a f***’ when in charge of Australia
Joe Marler and Eddie Jones chatting during 2022 Six Nations.
England prop Joe Marler has claimed that Eddie Jones “didn’t give a f*** about a thing” when he was head coach of the Wallabies.
The Harlequins loosehead played under the Australian when he was England boss before the 63-year-old was sacked by the Rugby Football Union following a series of poor results and performances.
Jones then returned to Australia to much fanfare, signing a five-year contract that took him to the conclusion of the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
In the end, he only lasted 10 months, resigning following a pool stage exit at the 2023 global tournament in France.
Japan controversy
Controversially, he has since signed a deal with Japan, following reports he was speaking to Japanese officials while still in charge of the Wallabies.
That is something he has consistently denied but it has still left a sour taste in the mouth for Australian supporters, who are angry at his time in charge.
Marler was appearing on the Kick Offs and Kick Ons podcast alongside Australian greats Drew Mitchell, Matt Giteau and Adam Ashley-Cooper when presenter James Rochford asked: “Mate, why didn’t you warn us?”
The Englishman responded: “You lot were f*****g loving the appointment at the start! You were buzzing. That episode you lot did when you were sat in a line like little schoolboys…
“Then I had no idea what happened. The catastrof*** that ended up in the World Cup with him. He was sacking boys left, right and centre. Not just boys either, your biggest players, he just didn’t give a f*** about a thing.”
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England‘s experienced loosehead also spoke about the Red Rose post-Jones and what the feeling was in camp following their recent Six Nations campaign.
Steve Borthwick’s men struggled for performances at the start but they impressed in their final two matches against Ireland and France.
Marler was typically honest in his assessment, stating that they were not happy with their early games, including the Scotland “s***show”, but that there was some improvement.
‘We were dross’
“I guess the vibe’s alright, it’s better than what it was, but you’ve still got to look on the face of it and we won three games out of five,” he said.
“The last two games were big performances and definitely improved performances, but we lost against France away, although there were a couple of dubious calls.
“There was still plenty of disappointment within the camp where we won three out of five games, we didn’t play particularly well at the start of it.
“It took us a while to get going and then we were a s***show against Scotland. Scotland were good but, f***ing hell, we were dross.
“To have a reaction against Ireland and then a decent performance against France, it’s all well and good, but you don’t want to be that team which is always reacting to getting pumped or playing s***.
“There’s definitely progress being made there, there’s still a load of youngsters in the squad. F*****g hell, there’s a lot of youngsters, oh my god.
“A few of us are trying to guide and navigate them. I nearly kept a straight face for that, no f****r is listening to me are they?”
