"Unbelievable cop out" - Danny Cipriani takes aim at Eddie Jones with strongly worded tweet
Rugby NewsFriday, 01 September 2023 at 20:13
England's poor form is down to the RFU not producing enough quality players," says Australia head coach Eddie Jones.
Head coach Steve Borthwick has faced criticism, but former boss Jones says the blame lies elsewhere.
"The results of England over the last five years... they're not producing quality players," Jones told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"And so everyone looks at the head coach, and [says] 'let's blame the head coach'. But the onus on producing quality players is the RFU. And that hasn't happened.
"You've got to look at why you're not bringing talent through, then you've got to look at why your talent development systems are not doing that.
"The system's not right. What needs to change? Where's the gap? That's the responsibility of the RFU."
Former England number 10 Cipriani wasn't impressed with those comments, taking to Twitter
“What an unbelievable cop out” he said. “Once again… As the head coach of England you set the standard to follow, not by winning, by being a leader people look up to or admire, being accountable and inspiring a nation through your vision.
Not by belittling employees, running through staff, having a limited understanding of the game and getting hired because the RFU don’t know what they are looking for hence why they employed Eddie. RFU have a huge role to play but Eddie passing the buck is not news…”
He then added: “Rugby needs to make a change in this country. Eddie ran it further into the ground from a shocking 2015 W/C exit. If getting to the World Cup final in 2019 or even winning it in 2003 was enough to expand the game then that’s what would have happened. RFU have a huge role to play, it’s not a serious business. Selling Twickenham out is not difficult. Only when they don’t will they think to look in the mirror…”
Replying to a comment suggesting that Jones should have made these comments whilst still in charge of the national side, Cipriani claimed: “Why do you think he didn’t? Because he was picking up a pay cheque… not saying there is no truth in it. He got employed by those people who don’t know how to identify talent because they fell for his chat…”
The 100 best rugby players in the world:
With less than a fortnight remaining until the commencement of the Rugby World Cup, the rugby specialists at Telegraph Sport have collaboratively assessed and ranked the top 100 players globally.
Presented below is the comprehensive list, starting from the 100th spot and culminating at the first position.
100. Pierre Schoeman (Scotland)
99. Tommaso Menoncello (Italy)
98. Franco Mostert (South Africa)
97. Paul Alo-Emile (Samoa)
96. Sione Tuipulotu (Scotland)
95 Juan Martín González (Argentina)
94. Jasper Wiese (South Africa)
93. Damian Willemse (South Africa)
92. Mark Telea (New Zealand)
91. Faf de Klerk (South Africa)
90. Handré Pollard (South Africa)
89. James Lowe (Ireland)
88. Jamie Ritchie (Scotland)
87. Paul Willemse (France)
86. Shannon Frizell (New Zealand)
85. Freddie Steward (England)
They wrote: "The best England player to emerge in this four-year cycle, without question. Steward has come a long way from having to ditch a shift in Costa to turn out for Leicester in the Premiership Rugby Cup, to becoming England’s specialist diffuser under the high ball at full-back while hoovering up a number of awards. The potential is enormous, and he should thrive at his first World Cup."
84. Thibaud Flament (France)
83. Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland)
82. Matthieu Jalibert (France)
81.. Jac Morgan (Wales)
80 Jack Conan (Ireland)
79. Danilo Fischetti (Italy)
78. Ange Capuozzo (Italy)
77. Sam Whitelock (New Zealand)
76. Emiliano Boffelli (Argentina)
75. Darcy Graham (Scotland)
74. Louis Rees-Zammit (Wales)
73. Damian McKenzie (New Zealand)
72. Ellis Genge (England)
They wrote: "England have over-relied on his excellent ball-carrying in recent years – having him return kicks against France in 2022 – and his scrummaging, largely very good, can be first-class. Not forgetting his leadership abilities either, held in high regard by this England group as vice-captain."
71. Paolo Garbisi (Italy)
70. Bundee Aki (Ireland)
69. Uini Atonio (France)
68. Mateo Carreras (Argentina)
67. Andrew Porter (Ireland)
66. Peter O’Mahony (Ireland)
65. Ethan de Groot (New Zealand)
64 Anthony Jelonch (France)
63. Owen Farrell (England)
They wrote: "Even if you are someone who has never been fully convinced, it is difficult to argue with Farrell’s placing given the season he has just had – arguably his greatest ever on an individual level, showing an array of fly-half skills that fans might not have realised he possessed. Undeniably, his latest ban has put England in a very awkward spot."
62. Theo McFarland (Samoa)
61. Samisoni Tauke’iaho (New Zealand)
60. Waisea Nayacalevu (Fiji)
59. UJ Seuteni (Samoa)
58. Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland)
57. Kurt-Lee Arendse (South Africa)
56. Beauden Barrett (New Zealand)
55. Maro Itoje (England)
They wrote: "One of the game’s great competitors. Detractors might proffer that Itoje’s strengths have been figured out and neutralised by opponents, but he merits a place for his consistency here if nothing else. A born winner, his performances never drop below eight out of ten. In the court of public opinion, he is arguably a victim of his own early-career success."
54. Brodie Retallick (New Zealand)
53. Siya Kolisi (South Africa)
52. Codie Taylor (New Zealand)
51. Lu khanyo Am (South Africa)
50. Pieter-Steph du Toit (South Africa)
49. Davit Niniashvili (Georgia)
48. Mack Hansen (Ireland)
47. Taniela Tupou (Australia)
46. Rieko Ioane (New Zealand)
45. Robbie Henshaw (Ireland)
44. Marika Koroibete (Australia)
43. Charles Ollivon (France)
42. Cyril Baille (France)
41. Gabin Villière (France)
40. Jordie Barrett (New Zealand)
39. Richie Mo’unga (New Zealand)
38. Cheslin Kolbe (South Africa)
37. Emmanuel Meafou (Uncapped)
36. Finn Russell (Scotland)
35. Tadhg Furlong (Ireland)
34. Josua Tuisova (Fiji)
33. Tawera Kerr-Barlow (New Zealand)
32. Jack Willis (England)
They Wrote: "A lurching rollercoaster of a year has brought Willis to this juncture, where he is the highest-ranked England player on our list. That does not guarantee him a spot in Steve Borthwick’s starting side, of course. Just last autumn, following the demise of Wasps, Willis was battling for a spot in the 23. Moving to Toulouse, where he was integral to a title run, looks to have sharpened his link play to complement elite jackalling skills."
31. Aaron Smith (New Zealand)
30. Scott Barrett (New Zealand)
29. Marcos Kremer (Argentina)
28. Willie le Roux (South Africa)
27. Romain Ntamack (France)
26. Josh van der Flier (Ireland)
25. Frans Malherbe (South Africa)
24. Pablo Matera (Argentina)
23. Julián Montoya (Argentina)
22. Gaël Fickou (France)
21. Garry Ringrose (Ireland)
20. Will Jordan (New Zealand)
19. Steven Kitshoff (South Africa)
18. Malcolm Marx (South Africa)
17. Samu Kerevi (Australia)
16. Thomas Ramos (France)
15. Levani Botia (Fiji)
14. Johnny Sexton (Ireland)
13. Julien Marchand (France)
12. James Ryan (Ireland)
11. Dan Sheehan (Ireland)
10. Hugo Keenan (Ireland)
9. Damian Penaud (France)
8. Jonathan Danty (France)
7. Tadhg Beirne (Ireland)
6. Will Skelton (Australia)
5. Caelan Doris (Ireland)
4. Grégory Alldritt (France)
3. Ardie Savea (New Zealand)
2 Eben Etzebeth (South Africa)
1. Antoine Dupont (France)
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