Former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones has hit out at the new experimental law variations (ELVs) after his Saracens team lost to Gloucester in the English Premiership.
Jones was also furious at being forced to do without England captain Steve Borthwick during his team’s 22-16 defeat on Saturday.
Jones was angry at having to leave out second-row Borthwick after England manager Martin Johnson ordered all his internationals be rested from this round of Premiership matches.
“I think it is ridiculous that you don’t have your best English players playing in the Premiership,” said Jones, coach of the Australia side that lost the 2003 World Cup final in Sydney to an England team captained by Johnson.
“It’s almost a contradiction. You should have your best players playing.
“His (Borthwick’s) presence in the line-out would have made a difference.”
Turning to the ELVs, Jones added: “There is something wrong with the rules. The game is very difficult to referee.
“It is too difficult to referee and there is so much contest at the breakdown that other things are being missed.
“The best side won today but there was no rugby played and everyone wants to see rugby,” said Jones after a defeat which left Saracens seventh in the 12-team table.
“We have to have officials out there who want to referee but the IRB (International Rugby Board) have made the laws so difficult for referees to referee and the game is immeasurably worse than it was 12 months ago.
“The referees have not got worse and neither have the players. So what’s the one missing? The ELVs (experimental law variations).
“They (the ELVs) have stuffed the game up and it is very hard to play rugby,” said Jones, who branded the current set-up as “Rafferty’s Rules”.
London Irish thrashed strugglers Newcastle 48-8 to regain top spot from Bath, who play Leicester on Sunday.
The Exiles scored seven tries including one from former NSW Waratah Peter Hewat.
Newcastle were left in 11th place with only basement club Bristol, whom they play next, keeping them out of the lone relegation place.
Bristol were beaten 30-8 away to Northampton and the west country club’s coach Richard Hill said his side faced a difficult 2009.
Andystath
Guest
Poor Eddie,its always someone else's fault that his sides lost.One good tournament doesn't stand up five years later.As far as the ELV go,more astute and sucessful rugby brains devised them,so stop pandering to the English rugby press and start focusing on your inabilities as a coach.
jock
Guest
Once again Eddie is whinging - either coach your players to become better at the breakdown or resign, as for missing one player this indicates a sad endicament on the coaching staff if the rely on 1 player even Borthwick to control their line out. All the whinging in the world at this time of the year will not change the laws and ELV's that you are playing with. Eddie needs to learn to live with the decisions made and get on the the job - after all he has had help from outside already and still nothing has changed . Life is different when you actually have to coach instead of simply getting the best a country can offer and managing them.
Who Needs Melon
Guest
I also like the "I think it is ridiculous that you don’t have your best English players playing in the Premiership" comment. Poor Jonesy. Don't you wish those clubs had more power? Imagine a national coach having that kinda sway! Un-heard-of!
Colin N
Guest
"the Northern Hemisphere aren’t even playing any ELVs that effect the breakdown, right?" Pretty much. All that's happened is that the IRB have introduced a new directive to tell refs to be stricter at the breakdown, which affected the quality of the GP matches in the early rounds, but if any of you saw the Leicester-Bath game then you will see that the players have got use to the stricter laws in the GP. I think the problem with Jones is that he hasn't really got saracens playing very good rugby against the top teams, despite the amount of 'top' players they have in their team.
Derm
Roar Guru
It might be just me, but that might have been a subtle plea by Jones to get the remaining ELVs for the breakdown implemented. Depends on how you interpret what he said. He said the current ELV laws are like Rafferty's Rules which I understand is an Australian term meaning 'No rules'. So the current situation has made the breakdown complex and other things are not being picked up either. And he may be right - implementing half the ELVs only - may have made the game worse than before, in his view. The NH are playing some of the laws about staying on your feet, etc. However, it's a PK if you don't. It's a FK down south.
Yikes
Guest
LAS, amen! He doesn't even make sense - the Northern Hemisphere aren't even playing any ELVs that effect the breakdown, right?
LeftArmSpinner
Roar Guru
Every self-promoting utterance that emanates from Mr Jones' further confirms that we are all better off without him. Sadly, he continues to display a continual bitterness and lack of acceptance of the responsibility that goes with his roles to indicate serious personality flaws!