It says everything about Kyle Sinckler that he felt the need to pay Eddie Jones a visit when the dust was still settling on his sacking as England head coach. Jones has spoken about how pleased he was with the number of messages he received from his players but when all it takes is the push of a few buttons, it requires a certain character to seek him out and offer gratitude in person. Sinckler, however, had made his mind up. “It was important for me to have that conversation with him face-to-face.”
So it was that Sinckler travelled to England’s base in Bagshot to give Jones his thanks for moulding him from a rough diamond into one of the world’s leading tighthead props. To apologise, too, for Sinckler holds himself in part responsible for Jones’s departure. “I felt I’d probably let Eddie down, because if I’m playing well enough and the team is playing well enough, that change wouldn’t have been made.”
