‘All my fault’ – Jones laments England defeat

Eddie Jones said England’s defeat to South Africa was “entirely my fault” but believes they can have a “very good run” at next year’s World Cup.

Head coach Jones apologized for the performance but said his players were still heading in the right direction, 10 months out from the World Cup.

“We’re disappointed that we didn’t play the way we wanted,” Jones told Amazon Prime.

“South Africa does things to you that are sometimes hard to deal with.

“We didn’t shoot the way we wanted to. You have to win contests and we didn’t win in the air or on set pieces, so it’s tough going into the game.

“We’ve lost two of the key competitions but we’ll improve in those areas. The results say it all and that’s what judges us, but I feel there’s growth in the team, which we’ve seen, but it didn’t happen today obvious.”

Jones’ side have lost six of 12 Tests in the calendar year, England’s worst run since 2008.

The Springboks’ defeat followed a comeback draw against New Zealand, a win over Japan and a loss to Argentina in a disappointing autumn schedule.

Asked if he was still confident in his ability to lead the team at next year’s World Cup in France, Jones said: “I think about where we’re going heading into a World Cup.

“Obviously we want to win games and be successful, but are we moving in the right direction? Yes.

“I’ve been training for a few years and I think I can train well. People will say what they say, and there are ups and downs in sport, but today we didn’t play well and I apologize for that, it’s totally my fault. . “

He added: “Obviously in terms of the results we’re not happy, but I feel like we’re building a really good foundation to have a really good start to the World Cup, a really good start.

“Some young players have a lot of experience today and they’re going to be better players again because of it. We’ve got other players coming back in, some of our more senior players and we’re not far off.

“We need to develop consistently. Test match rugby is about consistency.”

“The plan was clear”

England centre-back Manu Tuilagi, who won his 50th cap, admitted South Africa forced England into mistakes.

“It was a tough game,” Tuilagi told Amazon Prime. “We wanted to come out and attack, which I thought we did at the start, but the Springboks were tough and physical and put a lot of pressure on us. They forced us into mistakes and they took advantage of that.

“The plan was clear, but South Africa are a quality team and they put a lot of pressure on us. We weren’t good enough today and we have to take it on the chin.

“We’re building well. Sometimes it’s hard for people to see, but we definitely believe in it.”

England captain Owen Farrell, Tuliagi’s midfield partner, said the team would come back stronger.

“It didn’t go our way today and we weren’t able to show our best, but we’ve done a good job over the last five weeks and we’ve got to make sure it’s not for nothing,” Farrell said.

“We lacked a little bit of precision and bite at times. The game was very slow to start, which they are very good at. They didn’t sink their teeth into us like that Argentina game, we have to learn how to – the better.”

South Africa ended the year on a high after narrowly losing to Ireland and France before beating Italy last weekend.

Captain Siya Kolisi, who lifted the World Cup in 2019, said: “It’s a huge relief for us. We’ve been working really hard for the last few months.

“I know some results haven’t panned out, but we’re still grateful to get the kind of support we’re getting from home.

“England were tough at the start but we stuck to our guns and tweaked a few things.”