Clive Woodward slams Eddie Jones over 'pathetic macho stuff'

Writing in his Daily Mail column, Woodward added that he believed Jones' pre-game antics contributed to lock Charlie Ewels' sending off after 82 seconds.

"They were found wanting and that is the only way to look at this match. There is no Monday morning meeting and England are on the plane home, with Jones once again blaming a referee for his own shortcomings," Woodward wrote.

"Why? Firstly we had all this pathetic macho stuff from Jones in the build-up about how England were going to play with a physicality and aggression that Ireland hadn't seen before. Why even go there? Of course it's going to be tough and torrid up front, it's England against Ireland at Twickenham for heaven’s sake. It’s a given. It's that kind of ridiculous rhetoric that probably contributed to Ewels' dangerous challenge, which was rightly punished with a red card.

"Keeping 15 players on the pitch is the No 1 requirement in knockout rugby because being able to play under pressure is coachable. Part of that flawed approach was also fuelled by Jones’ insistence that England be viewed as the underdogs."

Woodward, who coached England to the 2003 Rugby World Cup title, described Jones as an "Aussie battler" who prides himself as an underdog figure thinking the world is against him.

"I remember him from his playing days in Sydney, a small tough hooker with the Randwick club, who were perceived as the unfashionable team from a tough part of town, taking on my lot at Manly, who were seen as the city slickers and much more cosmopolitan, spending most of our time on the beach! That streetfighter approach can only take you so far. It can work when you are clearly the minnows but England are not little guys who constantly need winding up."

Jones is coming under