‘We also need to show a little bit of respect for Eddie’ – RFU’s Bill Sweeney

The Rugby Football Union’s chief executive Bill Sweeney has called for more respect to be shown towards Wallabies head coach Eddie Jones after the side failed to make it out of the Rugby World Cup pool stage in France.

It was Sweeney who made the final decision to call time on Jones’ reign in England at the end of last year, opening the door for what appeared to be a sensational return for the coach to his native Australia.

However, that has not quite gone according to plan with Jones taking a radical approach to the World Cup in a bid to change Wallabies rugby. Despite the pool exit Jones stands behind his decisions.

More than what meets the eye

Sweeney came to the defence of Jones outlining a lot of the good the coach does in the different levels of the game.

“We don’t take any particular joy or enjoyment out of Australia’s current situation,” Sweeney said.

“We also need to show a little bit of respect for Eddie, he was England’s longest serving coach … seven years. We had three Six Nations Championship [titles] with him, a Grand Slam, he took us to a Rugby World Cup final.

“Also a lot of the stuff that doesn’t get written up, he did an amazing job in terms of the community game. He was always at community clubs at the weekend and did a lot for kids and for coaching. So we don’t take any pleasure whatsoever at what they’re going through at the moment.”

Decision needed to be made

There were times before Jones got the sack that Sweeney decided to stick with the veteran, which almost paid off, but ultimately after the team failed to progress following a series win in Australia, a decision was made.

“Life is really easy with hindsight,” Sweeney said. “Would you have made the same decisions? It’s so easy looking backwards. I don’t think so is the answer. You can do a comparison with 2018 and 2019 and 2022 and 2023. 2018 we came fifth in the Six Nations, we went on tour to South Africa, we lost the first two tests, having built up good leads, a bit of [Danny] Cipriani magic, we win the third test. Eddie keeps his job.

“If you look at 22-23. Fifth in the Six Nations in 2022, in Australia, we win the series. People say now that yeah, they were weak, but you can’t compare then to now, and it’s not easy to win a series in Australia.

“So you come away with a 2-1 series win in Australia, you’re expecting to kick on in the autumn, and it didn’t happen for various reasons, and that’s when we felt we needed to take action and it would be in our best interests then to make the change for a number of reasons.”

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