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England lock Maro Itoje says head coach Eddie Jones is “truly special”, insisting it is the players who must be held accountable for their fifth-place finish in the Six Nations.
The 2020 champions equalled their worst placing in the tournament after a 32-18 defeat to Ireland on Saturday.
When questioned on their disappointing 2021 performances, Jones said England were in “a transition period”.
“Eddie is one of the best coaches I’ve worked with,” Itoje said.
“His work rate, his knowledge, his feeling with the players, the way he goes about his business are genuinely second to none.
“As players, we need to be accountable for our behaviours. At the end of the day, Eddie can’t play the game for us.
“The players need to be accountable and if you ask any player who has been under Eddie, I doubt anyone will say differently. He’s a truly special coach.”
‘It will make us stronger and more robust’
Following defeats by Scotland and Wales, England looked to have finally found their form when they claimed a 23-20 victory against France in round four.
But the indiscipline present in their earlier defeats was their undoing again in Dublin, where they gave away 14 penalties.
It is the first time since 1976 that England have lost to all of the home nations in the tournament.
With some players – though perhaps fewer than previously expected – likely to be picked for this summer’s upcoming British and Irish Lions tour, Jones will not have his squad back together until the autumn.
But with the World Cup taking place in 2023, Itoje says now is the best time to learn “some tough lessons”.
“You never want to go through periods like this, but if this makes us a better team in the long run and makes us a better team when we get back together, then we can move forwards,” the 26-year-old said.
“It will make us stronger and more robust, but at the moment we have to be accountable for our performances.
“In terms of what I believe this team can do and what this team can achieve, nothing has changed. I truly believe that we’ve got something here.
“We’re not displaying the best of the team at the moment, but I genuinely believe we’ve got one of the best coaches in the world.
“I do believe we are going somewhere but we have to recover and take our medicine from this Six Nations.”
Following the Ireland loss, Jones said it was time “to reset the team” and prop Mako Vunipola accepts some players’ international futures may be at risk.
“This defeat will hurt and if we don’t learn from it we won’t be here for much longer,” Vunipola said.
“When things aren’t going right, there have to be changes. In this business of international rugby you can’t keep doing the same thing… that’s the definition of insanity.”
