Keith Wood has labelled Eddie Jones' comments about England ‘declaring’ halfway through their 24-12 win over Ireland as 'horrible'.
The former Ireland captain was responding to Jones’ comments in the aftermath of Sunday’s Six Nations clash in which he likened the game to a cricket match.
"I thought the first-half was outstanding. We played with intensity, we executed well, and we had the game won at half-time.
"If it was a cricket match we could have declared. Second half they got some possession, got a few calls from the referee, and we had to defend well and we did,” Jones said.
Speaking on Off The Ball's Monday Night Rugby, the 2001 World Player of the Year was unimpressed with the England head coach’s comments after what was admittedly a well-deserved win for his side.
“Just to pick up on Eddie Jones, is there a more graceless coach in the game? The manner in which he speaks.
“I know he does it for effect but that doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s pretty horrible,” Wood said.
"Is there a more graceless coach in the game?" 👀
Keith Wood was not impressed with Eddie Jones' comments after his side's 24-12 win over Ireland. #ENGvIRE@VodafoneIreland #TeamOfUs
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— Off The Ball (@offtheball) February 24, 2020
Jones, however, did apologise for his remarks today, saying he now understands that he’s not allowed to say anything ‘a little bit different’.
“I probably need to apologise for it. Sorry, sorry, sorry. I know you're not allowed to say anything that's a little bit different here, so I'll apologise.
“I'll apologise for making a comment that's not in the rugby sense. Apologies,” Jones said.
England will look to build on their fine performance against Ireland when they take on Wales at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday, March 7th.
Ireland will have the perfect opportunity to get back to winning ways when they take on Italy (if things go to plan) earlier the same day at the Aviva Stadium.
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