The bizarre Eddie Jones decision England fans just cannot work out
There was one clear turning point in the Calcutta Cup on Saturday and that was undeniably the moment Eddie Jones replaced Marcus Smith with George Ford.
Though Ford was not to blame for this, England never gained momentum of the game after that and ultimately blew a ten point lead. Up to that point, Smith had scored all of England’s 17 points, but Jones obviously saw the far more experienced Ford as the man to help England close the game out. That makes sense given Ford’s form with Leicester Tigers this season, but history shows that it did not pay off.
Hindsight is of course a wonderful thing, but England fans cannot work out the decision making by Jones in the final quarter. Twitter has since been flooded with comments questioning the thought process, and not all by England fans.
Take a look:
Why take Marcus Smith off?
— Jonathan Davies OBE (@JiffyRugby) February 5, 2022
Fair play to Scotland coming back from 17-10 down, congrats on winning the Calcutta Cup again.
Eddie Jones made bad decisions taking Smith and Sinckler off and a moment of madness from Cowan-Dickie cost us.
Enjoy the night out Scotland!
— Andy Goode (@AndyGoode10) February 5, 2022
Is there a player on the planet that has scored more points in the dying minutes than Marcus Smith? Eddie just can’t stand being told what to do can he? #scoveng #6nations #planeteddie
— AGR9 (@WotnotCloCo) February 5, 2022
Marcus Smith accounted for all 17 pts of #EnglandRugby . Why replaced with 15 mins to go? Eddie Jones made an ill-timed substitution. Disappointed @robertmdaws
— Sergio Capozzi (@sergiocap71) February 5, 2022
Never saw the point of taking off Marcus Smith.. invaluable big game experience and management, especially when you have some long distance kickers in the team.
— Nick Harrington (@nickharrington) February 5, 2022
Didn’t take the chances in the first half, took Marcus Smith off when he was smashing and then Cowan Dickie cost us the second half… Eddie’s needs better discipline over this team. It’s like they’ve never played as a team before!
— Sarah Enys (@saarahenys) February 5, 2022
Taking Marcus Smith off was a massive mistake by Eddie Jones .
— Paul Roberts (@Tumblescarlet67) February 5, 2022
Scotland XV
15. Stuart Hogg – Exeter Chiefs – (Captain) – 88 caps
14. Darcy Graham – Edinburgh Rugby – 22 caps
13. Chris Harris – Gloucester Rugby – 31 caps
12. Sam Johnson – Glasgow Warriors – 21 caps
11. Duhan van der Merwe – Worcester Warriors – 13 caps
10. Finn Russell – Racing 92 – (Vice-Captain) – 58 caps
9. Ali Price – Glasgow Warriors – 46 caps
1. Rory Sutherland – Worcester Warriors – 16 caps
2. George Turner – Glasgow Warriors – 20 caps
3. Zander Fagerson – Glasgow Warriors – 42 caps
4. Jonny Gray – Exeter Chiefs – 64 caps
5. Grant Gilchrist – Edinburgh Rugby – 48 caps
6. Jamie Ritchie – Edinburgh Rugby – (Vice-Captain) – 31 caps
7. Hamish Watson – Edinburgh Rugby – 45 caps
8. Matt Fagerson – Glasgow Warriors – 17 caps
Replacements
16. Stuart McInally – Edinburgh Rugby – 43 caps
17. Pierre Schoeman – Edinburgh Rugby – 4 caps
18. WP Nel – Edinburgh Rugby – 43 caps
19. Sam Skinner – Exeter Chiefs – 15 caps
20. Magnus Bradbury – Edinburgh Rugby – 14 caps
21. Ben White – London Irish – Uncapped
22 Blair Kinghorn – Edinburgh Rugby – 28 caps
23 Sione Tuipulotu – Glasgow Warriors – 1 cap
ENGLAND XV
15. Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers, 5 caps)
14. Max Malins (Saracens, 10 caps)
13. Elliot Daly (Saracens, 52 caps)
12. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 43 caps)
11. Joe Marchant (Harlequins, 7 caps)
10. Marcus Smith (Harlequins, 5 caps)
9. Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 112 caps)
1. Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 31 caps)
2. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, 31 caps)
3. Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears, 47 caps)
4. Maro Itoje (Saracens, 51 caps)
5. Nick Isiekwe (Saracens, 3 caps)
6. Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints, 10 caps)
7. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 36 caps) (C)
8. Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs, 9 caps)
FINISHERS
16. Jamie George (Saracens, 61 caps)
17. Joe Marler (Harlequins, 74 caps)
18. Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 15 caps)
19. Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 26 caps)
20. Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins, 4 caps)
21. Harry Randall (Bristol Bears, 2 caps)
22. George Ford (Leicester Tigers, 77 caps)
23. Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs, 34 caps)
