“No comment, mate,” says Eddie Jones. “No comment.” The press conference has just begun and all the journalist wants to know is how Jones feels about the criticism his England team got after they lost in France last week. “No comment‚“ says Jones again. “Fun this, isn’t it? Think we might keep doing it.” But he’s not smiling, and nor is anyone else. On one side his assistant John Mitchell is staring at the back wall and on the other his captain, Owen Farrell, is looking down at his hands. England have just beaten Scotland 13-6, a good win in difficult conditions. The real question, then, is what the hell are they so angry about?
They’re angry about the beer bottle that hit Neil Craig on the head before the game. They’re angry about the way the crowd booed Farrell while he was lining up his penalty kicks. They’re angry because of the stick they got about the way they played in Paris. They’re angry because they were called out for talking about “hate” and “war” in the days before the game. They’re angry because they remember how the Scots celebrated after they won this fixture in 2018. They’re angry because of what people have been saying to them on social media.
Written by Andy Bull
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/feb/09/anger-energy-fuelling-ellis-genge-rise-england under the title “Anger is the energy fuelling Ellis Genge’s rise in the England ranks | Andy Bull”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
