Felix Jones has let Steve Borthwick and English rugby down. Big time.
So has Aled Walters, albeit to a slightly lesser degree. His departures from the national team in recent weeks have derailed the team’s progress ahead of an action-packed autumn series.
Fitness coach Tom Tombleson has also left the team. These losses are hugely significant and the silence from the RFU is deafening more than seven days after we first learned that Jones had left the team.
The situation does not leave anyone in a positive light.
Jones joined England with significant pedigree after winning two consecutive World Cups with South Africa.
Felix Jones has let down Steve Borthwick and English rugby by leaving the national team.
The departure of coach Aled Walters has also hit the camp hard and set back the team’s progress.
There is no doubt that the signing of Jones was a coup for Borthwick, but at the time I felt uncomfortable at the amount of fuss it made about it.
There is no doubt that his signing was a huge coup for Borthwick, but at the time I was left feeling uncomfortable by the amount of fuss that was made around his appointment. Borthwick has continued to praise Jones’ abilities at every opportunity, but ultimately their marriage ended in an ugly divorce.
Jones and Walters have shown that their appointments were a huge mistake. If they do not want to coach England, as these two have clearly shown, the message must be clear. Back to your bikes, Felix and Aled. Thanks and goodbye.
This is not a time for sentimentality. Both Jones and Walters are highly respected and have achieved great things in rugby. And, while this comment is undoubtedly easy to make in retrospect, I am not sure that either should have been in the RFU in the first place.
England is full of young and talented coaches. It’s difficult to explain, but I don’t think being a foreign coach for England is the same as being a foreign coach for other countries.
Frankly, England are not very popular in the rugby world.
To be clear, these are not individuals. And of course, these are professional coaches and a modern sport. But I am not surprised by what has happened.
English rugby has some great people in its ranks who could have done as good a job as Walters and Jones.
Many of them could have done even better if they had the invaluable traits of patriotism and loyalty in their DNA. And this is where Borthwick, as head coach, now has a great opportunity.
Tom Tombleson, a fitness trainer, has also moved on, and all these losses are very significant.
Both Jones and Walters (left) are highly rated and have achieved great things in rugby.
When I was England head coach, my support team remained constant, with Andy Robinson (right) as a long-term partner.
He must turn the current farce into something positive and establish a coaching staff that excites his players once again. But first, he must address the current situation, which is far from ideal.
I have to say that not even in my worst nightmare can I imagine this happening to my group.
When I was England manager, my support team remained constant. Andy Robinson, Phil Larder, Dave Alred, Phil Keith-Roach, Simon Hardy and Dave Reddin were my long-term team-mates. I simply couldn’t have imagined that one of them would come up to me during the time we worked together and inform me they were leaving.
We sometimes had disagreements. It’s natural because in elite sport there are many different opinions and ideas. The stakes are high and the adrenaline can get out of control.
Elite coaches are just as driven, skilled, competitive and stubborn as the players, so managing them is just as complicated. In some ways, it’s even harder because, unlike international players, they can leave and join the opposing team at any time.
That is exactly what has happened with Walters, who has moved to Ireland. If Andy, Phil or others had left while I was in charge, I am sure my players would not have been happy. Far from it!
Surely people like Martin Johnson and Lawrence Dallaglio would have looked at me and asked, “What’s going on?”, and they would have been right to do so.
England’s current players have had no consistency in their supporting cast. That goes back to the Eddie Jones era of rotating coaches, which was a farce.
Dressing room bigwigs like Martin Johnson would have been surprised by major changes in the backroom.
England’s current players have lacked consistency in their squad, in a movement that dates back to Eddie Jones’ revolving door of managers.
If assistant coaches leave, the man at the top has questions to answer. That is what is happening to Borthwick at the moment, so he needs to hold a press conference as soon as possible to explain what is happening. Borthwick needs to tell it like it is, without sugarcoating it.
If Borthwick, in your opinion, was wrong with the appointments of Jones and Walters, then he need only acknowledge it. That ends the story and we can all move on.
As a manager, it’s all about taking back the initiative. The RFU have yet to make any official comment on Jones’ departure, which again says a lot. They are quick to do so when they see positive news, but too often remain in the shadows when it comes to controversial issues.
Borthwick must be feeling very disappointed and questioning his judgement, given that Jones only joined the team after last year’s World Cup. Borthwick needs to put all these emotions aside, recognise that these things happen and move on quickly.
Just eight games and seven months after joining, Jones is gone. What is particularly damning is that he has left England without, at least apparently, another job secured. This is what Borthwick must fix.
The longer you remain silent, the longer the debate will last.
Is Borthwick’s environment too intense? Not ambitious enough? Does he have the people management skills to work with big personalities? Are English rugby fans likely to continue to expect high support staff turnover (like we saw under his predecessor)?
As things stand, we simply don’t know the answers to those questions.
Jones had shown promising signs of success with the blitz-style defensive system, but to be honest, that’s not a big concern for the best teams in the world.
Former England Sevens captain and Olympic medallist Tom Mitchell is someone worth keeping an eye on.
Borthwick’s dream would be to finally bring Shaun Edwards into the England dressing room
This is, however, an approach that can be developed by whoever succeeds him.
We now have a great opportunity to be creative. I know Tom Mitchell, the former England Sevens captain and Olympic medallist, very well. He is a fantastic young coach who would bring new ideas.
Borthwick’s dream would be to finally bring Shaun Edwards into the England dressing room, where he belongs and should have been for some time. The same applies to Dave in terms of his fitness.
The RFU should be knocking on his door. Would Walters and Jones have left England if it had been their country of birth? Only they can answer that question, but I suspect they wouldn’t.
Now both men are relegated to the past of English rugby and that is where they must stay.
