Eddie Jones insists his England side are no cheats as they stand on brink of Australia Test win
Red Rose boss slammed ex-Ozzie hooker Phil Kearns who accused Dan Cole of scrummaging illegally in Brisbane win
EDDIE JONES hit back at Aussie cheat claims over England’s scrum.
Former Wallabies hooker Phil Kearns says tighthead prop Dan Cole had been scrummaging illegally in Saturday’s First Test.
Kearns is adamant the 29-year-old Leicester powerhouse was “angling right in the whole time” as the packs squared-up during England’s 39-28 win in Brisbane.
But Jones leapt to the defence of his forward, saying: “Every side I coach, I coach them to play legally.
“We want to play legally, we want to scrum straight, we want to scrum at them.
“We were disappointed on the weekend that we weren’t allowed to scrum at them.
“We’ll be ready for any tricks the Australians have.
“A few times when we were allowed to scrum, we took them.
“I’ve got great confidence in Craig Joubert — he’ll referee the game and he won’t let Phil Kearns referee the game.
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“If Phil Kearns was refereeing the game, Australia would win every game and they don’t.
“Phil is part of an organised campaign and he’s playing his role. Every couple of days someone comes up with something.
“I have been a part of it I know how it works.”
Jones has a fully-fit squad to pick from despite James Haskell, Mike Brown and Courtney Lawes all being rested in training yesterday.
The Brisbane triumph was only England’s fourth victory on Australian soil since 1909.
A win at the AAMI Park in Melbourne this Saturday would see England claim a first series win Down Under.
However, former Wallabies boss Jones urges caution, pointing at the Lions who went 1-0 up in 2001 but lost the series 2-1.
He said: “The Second Test of a series is always interesting. One team is confident after a win, the other is desperate to win.
“History shows in the professional era Australia have never lost the Second Test.
“Australia love being underdogs. I wasn’t part of the coaching staff, but I was an observer for the Lions series so I witnessed what happened in the first game.
“The Wallabies went out there at the Gabba and tried to play side-to-side, but the next week they were much more direct.
“They were out of the game for 40 minutes then Joe Roff scored a fantastic intercept try, Australia got a second wind, won the game and went on to win the series. It means we have to play our best 80 minutes of the season.”
Jones is clearly fired-up for another ding-dong against Michael Cheika’s Aussies.
And after a press conference which saw former player Stephen Hoiles throwing in questions fuelled with sexual innuendo, Jones won an apology from the pundit.
Hoiles said: “I’ve apologised to Eddie. The last thing I want to do is be disrespectful. We’re just trying to have fun.”