The difficulty of getting a straight answer out of the England rugby coach

It can be frustrating – but it certainly makes for entertaining press conferences

A press conference with Eddie Jones is a press conference like no other. Some coaches like Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson can use the media as a weapon within their own armoury. Others cannot hide their hatred for the press – I’m looking at you Michael Cheika – but every once in a while you get someone who makes every day a little bit different.

That’s very much the case with the current England rugby head coach. On Saturday, Jones delivered one of his most bizarre appearances of his four-year spell in charge, claiming he “couldn’t remember” the injury-enforced changes he had made to his team and then refusing to “deny or confirm” an altercation that took place that lead to two players being dropped out of the blue.

Then came Sunday, where Jones answered a question about the performance of debutant Willi Heinz by launching into a tirade against World Rugby regarding the high-tackle laws. Confused? Us too.

So at Monday’s final Rugby World Cup squad announcement, would Jones finally snap and tell the press pack where to go? It was in fact the complete opposite. The Australian was all smiles, had all the time in the world to answer questions and even gave some stick to his own players while they completed their own interviews.

But you still have to be careful when it comes to Eddie Jones. For example, when asked by The Independent about whether Jack Nowell, Exeter’s star full-back, could play the same position for England, Jones strangely answered: “I haven’t seen him play full-back. If he plays full-back for us he might be a genuine option.”

This despite watching Nowell do exactly that during the marquee game of the club season, the Premiership final, just two months ago. But it will often be followed by a wry smile and a nod, a message from him of “nice try, but I’m not going to tell you that”, and very possibly a witty comment further down the line as he leaves the room.

Jones may not be to everyone’s taste, but you can’t fault him for keeping it interesting.

Yours,

Jack de Menezes

Deputy sports editor