Senior England players have spoken of their shock and disappointment after Felix Jones followed Aled Walters in quitting the national setup but have urged Steve Borthwick to stick with the Irishman’s world-leading blitz defence system.
England squad members were blindsided over the weekend when it emerged Jones had resigned as defence coach eight months into the job, and held a meeting to discuss the impact it would have. The news came soon after the highly popular Walters left to join Ireland, raising awkward questions over Borthwick’s working environment and threatening to derail the progress England have made this year. Jones is said to be particularly close to Walters, who took the role of head of strength and conditioning before last year’s Rugby World Cup.
Jones’s all-or-nothing defence system endured teething problems early in the Six Nations but England beat Ireland at Twickenham before running France close in Lyon and pushing the All Blacks twice in the summer. “They will be a loss,” said the full-back George Furbank. “I loved working with Felix especially. I thought he was a very good coach so he’ll definitely be missed but I’m sure Steve has got some guys who he’s been looking out for who will step up into that role.
“We weren’t expecting it. Nobody really saw it coming. It was a bit of a shock. It was a bit of an odd timing. But I’m sure the people Steve will bring in will do a good job. [The blitz system] helped us go from a defence that was ranked fourth or fifth in the world to first or second. We definitely saw massive improvements.”
With England set to welcome New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Japan to Twickenham in November, the loss of both Walters and Jones is a major setback to Borthwick’s squad, with preparations being finalised before the start of the domestic season. “It’s going to be a real shame with those two guys not being around,” said the fly-half Fin Smith. “Aled’s an amazing character and drives so much of the energy in there and Felix is one of the hardest working coaches and one of the best rugby brains I’ve come across.
“They’re going to be a big loss. It’s a real shock. The strides the team took with that defence, we got so many positive rewards from it. I would imagine that [we will continue with the same defence] but it’s up to the board and what not what happens.”
The wing Tommy Freeman said he was “gutted” to be losing “two big characters”, while the scrum-half Alex Mitchell revealed England players had seen fit to discuss the double blow over the weekend.
Borthwick is seeking to appoint a replacement for Walters before the autumn and, while Jones is understood to have a 12-month notice period, it is unclear if he will serve it given the impact his impending departure could have on the squad.
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Having guided Northampton to their first Premiership title in 10 years, Phil Dowson and his senior coaches Sam Vesty and Lee Radford have seen their reputations soar, but the outgoing Saints chief executive, Mark Darbon, warned off the Rugby Football Union.
“All of our coaching group are under contract,” he said. “We are so proud of what they have done, last year in particular. We very recently extended the contracts of Phil, Sam, Lee and the rest of the coaching group so I think we are in a good place. We are optimistic they will continue to lead us to lots of success.”