England prop Joe Marler has defended the culture within head coach Steve Borthwick’s set-up, saying it is “worlds apart” from the latter part of predecessor Eddie Jones’ reign.
England have lost defence coach Felix Jones, along with strength and conditioning staff Aled Walters and Tom Tombleson, in recent weeks.
Jones’ seven-year spell was marked by a high turnover of assistants and staff, with reports that the Australian’s leadership style was partly to blame., external
“The narrative that’s being pushed is that Steve is an Eddie 2.0 and the environment is being repeated,” Marler told the For The Love Of Rugby podcast. , external
“I don’t think it’s a fair reflection, because the environment is worlds apart from what Eddie’s became towards that second half of his cycle, which was dark at times.
“I have a lot of respect for the Big Beev [Eddie Jones], but there were some parts of his environment that I questioned to him and questioned around him, and it’s nothing like what Steve has created.”
Jones hired 18 assistant coaches during his time in charge of England, including Borthwick who was forwards coach between 2016 and 2019.
Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney, like Marler, has rejected the comparison between Borthwick and Eddie Jones’ regimes saying the exit of coaches this summer is “a completely different situation”. , external
