Former England World Cup winning coach Clive Woodward insisted England are ‘outdated’ while slamming Eddie Jones by labelling his regime a ‘recipe for disaster’.
France were crowned Grand Slam champions to claim their first title since 2010 after emerging emphatic 25-13 winners in Paris, although it was a notably jittery performance caused by the occasion. It is the third time in five years that England ended the tournament with three losses.
It has led to questions being raised over Jones’ suitability for the role just 18 months away from the World Cup - and Woodward believes the Six Nations proved England are lagging behind their rivals.
“The Six Nations showed that England are outdated whilst Ireland and Grand Slam champions France have a future to look forward to,” Woodward wrote in his Daily Mail column. “With all the talent that Eddie Jones' side have, it seems they have no coherent game plan or structure that could allow them to compete with the likes of France and Ireland.
“England at best are treading water while France and Ireland disappear into the distance. A few point to an ‘improvement’ from fifth place to third but frankly don’t even go there.
“The Six Nations has never been about position in league tables — it is about Grand Slams or winning the title — and certainly not a development tool for future World Cups and hence a means of job retention.
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“England lost three of their five games and all the big questions about the side remain unanswered.”
Woodward fixated his anger on Jones, who was his opposite number when England defeated Australia in the 2003 World Cup final. He believes the current coach has not surrounded himself with experienced voices, which has contributed to England’s struggles.
“What is clear is the head coach answers to nobody who understands international rugby. And I mean nobody,” Woodward wrote. “Eddie Jones reports to himself and that has been a recipe for disaster since his appointment.
“This is where the fault lines start and finish. I really feel for the players because they deserve better than this but none of them, currently, actually knows what good looks like at Test level.”
Despite the 25-13 defeat to France in Paris - which secured Les Bleus a famous Grand Slam Six Nations win - Woodward declared several individual players performed ‘heroically’. The 66-year-old singled out the likes of Ellis Genge, Marc Itoje, Sam Underhill and Joe Marchant as well as Freddie Steward.
