Eddie Jones calls Australia fans who aimed 'traitor' abuse at him 'clowns'

By Sports Desk July 17, 2022

Eddie Jones hit back at Australia fans who called him a "traitor" during an altercation after England completed a series win at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

The Red Rose pulled off a repeat of their tour triumph in 2016 by making it back-to-back series wins Down Under, beating the Wallabies 21-17 in the deciding Test on Saturday.

Jones was head coach of his country between 2001 and 2005, but has been in charge of England since 2015 following a spell with Japan.

After recovering from going 1-0 down in the series with a 30-28 loss in Perth, England won 25-17 in Brisbane last weekend before sealing the series in the decider.

Unsavoury scenes followed the match at the SCG, as two separate incidents emerged on social media that showed Australia fans baiting Jones, with one heading to the front of a stand to shout "You're a traitor" at the Tasmanian, to which the furious 62-year-old responded with, "What did you say? Come here and say it. Come here and say it."

A second video shows another fan also calling Jones a "traitor", which he again took exception to.

When asked for comment over the incident by the Sydney Morning Herald, Jones said: "Clowns think they have full go to abuse coaches."

It was not the first time in the series that Jones felt he had experienced abuse from home fans, suggesting he had faced similar jibes after the defeat in Perth.

"You have got 48,000 people all full of drink and all they want to see is their team win," he said. "When you turn them away, it is a great experience. A great feeling.

"I was coming out from the coaches' box and they all have their scarves on. When did Australians start wearing scarves? It is all the rage isn’t it? They are not so smart now.

"Before the game they are coming up saying to me [saying]: 'You are going to get belted tonight.' Now they are a little bit more quiet. So that's good. I enjoy that."

Related items

  • France 37-23 Argentina: Les Bleus wrap up campaign with third win France 37-23 Argentina: Les Bleus wrap up campaign with third win

    France posted a comfortable 37-23 win over Argentina on Friday to make it three wins out of three tests at the Stade de France to conclude their Autumn Nations Series. 

    Having also beaten New Zealand and Japan in Paris this month, Fabien Galthie's side claimed four tries, including a superb solo effort from Louis Bielle-Biarrey, as they eased to victory against the Pumas. 

    The hosts led 30-9 at the break after Argentina's Julian Montoya and Juan Martin Gonzalez were both shown yellow cards in the first half, with Thomas Ramos slotting his third penalty of the game. 

    Tomas Albornoz made it 30-16 for Felipe Contepomi's visitors, but their hopes of a comeback were dashed as Bielle-Biarrey scored his fourth try in three games before Ramos made it 37-16. 

    Albornoz then cut the deficit to 37-23 with a two-pointer with nine minutes to play, but that wasn't enough to stop his side from falling to a defeat. 

    "We knew it was going to be an 80-minute game. We saw last week how Argentina went all the way against a good Irish team," France lock Emmanuel Meafou told TNT Sports. 

    "We are happy with the win. We have three from three [in the autumn] and we will look to build on that in the Six Nations next year."

  • England must be 'brave on the ball' to halt winless run, says Borthwick England must be 'brave on the ball' to halt winless run, says Borthwick

    England head coach Steve Borthwick has demanded his team to be "brave on the ball" when they take on Eddie Jones' Japan in the Autumn Nations Series on Sunday. 

    Borthwick's side have lost each of their last five matches, their longest such run since another five-game stretch between February and June 2018.

    However, they have not lost more in a row since a streak of seven in 2006. Each of the five losses in their current streak have also come in single-digit margins.

    But England have also struggled at home. They have fallen to defeat in their last three matches at the Allianz Stadium, their longest losing run since 2008. 

    Only once before have they lost more in a row at the Twickenham venue (L5 between 1971 and 1973), though Borthwick has urged his players to persist with an attacking style. 

    "We are trying to play the game a different way," he told BBC Sport.

    "I am encouraging the players to be brave with the ball, to move the ball, that’s where the strength of the team now is and where it is going to be in the future."

    Borthwick named his 23-man squad to face Japan on Friday, reinstating Tom Curry and Sam Underhill, nicknamed the "Kamikaze Kids" by Jones in 2019. 

    Curry has been recalled to the team after he was knocked out against Australia, and he replaces Chandler Cunningham-South in the back-row.

    In the other change from the starting XV that lost to South Africa, full-back George Furbank comes in for Freddie Steward.

    Fin Smith replaces George Ford on England's bench while Cunningham-South steps in for Alex Dombrandt. Sale's Opoku-Fordjour could also make his senior debut. 

    "We anticipate a tough challenge from a team that thrives on playing fast and with tempo," said Borthwick. 

    "Japan are a dangerous team, so it’s important that we execute our game plan and maintain focus throughout the full 80 minutes."

    England team to face Japan

    George Furbank, Tommy Freeman, Ollie Lawrence, Henry Slade, Ollie Sleightholme, Marcus Smith, Jack van Poortvliet, Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Will Stuart, Maro Itoje, George Martin, Tom Curry, Sam Underhill, Ben Earl.

    Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Fin Baxter, Asher Opoku-Fordjour, Nick Isiekwe, Chandler Cunningham-South, Harry Randall, Fin Smith, Tom Roebuck. 

  • Starc hails 'fantastic bowler' Bumrah after day one in Perth Starc hails 'fantastic bowler' Bumrah after day one in Perth

    Australia seamer Mitchell Starc heaped praise on Jasprit Bumrah's performance on day one of their Test against India in Perth.

    India struggled with the bat and finished their first innings on 150, with Rishabh Pant (37) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (41) helping them to improve on a poor start.

    However, the tourists wrestled back control, leaving Australia on 67-7 at the close of play, thanks to Bumrah's inspired display.

    On Friday, 17 wickets fell, the most on the opening day of a Test in Australia since 1952.

    He finished on 4-17, leaving Australia 19-3 inside the seventh over as he took Usman Khawaja, Nathan McSweeney and Steve Smith in quick succession.

    Starc will start at the crease alongside Alex Carey on day two, and he was impressed by Bumrah's efficiency with the ball.

    "So, there's no surprise that he's [Bumrah] been a fantastic bowler across the formats for a long time," Starc said.

    "And again, his skills were on show [on Friday] as to how, how good he is. So, yeah, I'm sure there's something in that release point.

    "That's significant to his action. It's something a lot of people can't do, so I'm not, I'm certainly not going to go and try it. I'll probably snap."

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.