Courtney Lawes has revealed he was not consulted by the Rugby Football Union over the decision to sack Eddie Jones and was not aware that any players had been, admitting he was shocked and saddened by the former head coach’s departure.
The 33-year-old captained England to their series victory in Australia over the summer and was set to continue in the role in the autumn until he suffered nerve damage in his neck. He was sorely missed with England recording just one win in four matches, ending the year with five victories from 12 Tests including the dreadful defeat by South Africa to close the campaign.
The RFU chief executive, Bill Sweeney, led a review into England’s performance, assisted by anonymous panel members, and despite Jones fighting for his job at a meeting at Twickenham last week, he was shown the door after seven years in the role.
Asked if was invited to contribute, Lawes said: “No, I wasn’t. I don’t think any players were.
“I heard the news last Tuesday and just gave [Eddie] a text thanking him for his service and what he had done for my career. That’s all I could really do. I was quite surprised because it’s so close to the World Cup. Eddie has got a pretty good track record at World Cups. The last couple of years haven’t really gone our way but the World Cups are different for us because we get to spend so long together, we get to be a proper team for three or four months.
“I know I’m one of the lucky ones, he didn’t give me much stick or anything like that and he was ultimately really good for my career. I know that’s not the case for everyone so people may have different opinions but for me, personally, I was sad to see him go.
“It’s hard to see. Because you’re removed from the last camp and you don’t know what has happened, what has gone on or how the players were really feeling, the staff, there’s not much you can say about it. From the Australia tour we were going in the right direction, I thought we had made a lot of strides towards the World Cup and to not be able to make progress on that this autumn for whatever reason.”
Lawes made his first appearance in 11 weeks off the bench last week in Northampton’s heavy defeat by La Rochelle and starts Sunday’s match against Munster. While Lawes initially believed his injury was a concussion – due to a blow to the back of the head – a setback in training three weeks later led to further investigation, including a brain scan, and the conclusion that he had suffered further problems with his vestibular system – an issue that sidelined him for six weeks at the start of the year.
Lawes admits that having a recurring problem made him concerned about his long-term future but was given reassurance by the specialist before making his return.
“I suppose it is quite worrying,” he said. “At the same time, because I’d had a similar thing before and he explained to me that your vestibular system is to do with your eyes, your eyes and the back of your neck – it’s not to do with brain damage … to be honest I was more worried about what it means for the future because you hear a lot of stories but I spoke to the specialist again and said: ‘What does it mean for the future?’ and he reassured me and said it can increase your chances but not by much.
“Generally it’s your genetics which will determine if you get things like dementia and stuff like how much you’re drinking, other recreational things, and how healthy you keep yourself in later life. Because I’m pretty good on that stuff anyway that reassured me.”
