"He never wanted me" - Five players blacklisted by Eddie Jones

Wednesday, 01 June 2022 at 19:40

before and after home transformation youtube thumbnail 25

byRugby Rucker

Christian Wade believes he never had a chance of a call-up from Eddie ones and believes their final conversation six years ago was 'a ploy to keep the public happy'.

#1. Christian Wade

Wasps wing turned NFL hopeful also opened up about his one phone call from 'awkward' Eddie Jones during a recent interview with The Telegraph.

"He wanted me to work on the stuff I was already good at, already smashing. I obviously said to him ‘yeah, that’s what I’m doing and will continue to do’,

Christian Wade of England (Wasps) who scored 3 tries against Barbarians - Photo mandatory by-line: Gareth Davies/Pinnacle - Tel: +44(0)1363 881025 - Mobile:0797 1270 681 - VAT Reg No: 183700120 - 31/05/2015 - SPORT - RUGBY UNION - England v Barbarians - Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham, London, England.

"But it wasn’t very informative, you know what I’m saying? How do I get in the team, what’s the purpose of this call? It was almost like he called me so that when I spoke to the media I could say he had called me.

"Before there wasn’t really much chat, but I guess at the time there was pressure on him because of the performances I was putting in. It was almost a courtesy call. I’d rather if you have nothing to say, just don’t call me.

"I think I should be in the team, if you don’t think that then that’s fine, but just be straight up. Say what it is, I’m not picking you for whatever reason, or if you don’t want to say why then just don’t call me and let me get on with it."

#2. Danny Care

Former England start Kyran Bracken was the first person to reveal why the Quins playmaker was mysteriously frozen out of Jones plans in 2018 despite being a regular up until that point.

“He (Care) made the mistake of speaking his mind to Eddie Jones and questioning how he wanted him to play when he was playing with an England ‘B’ team against Japan in the autumn of 2018,” revealed the former England scrum-half.

“Eddie’s response to that was ‘that’s not the attitude I want’ and he binned him from his plans.”

This story was later backed up by England and Harlequins teammate Mike Brown in his column for the Mail Online with Care confirming he's been blacklisted

DID YOU KNOW? At age 11 he was invited to join the Academy at Sheffield Wednesday Football Club which meant giving up club rugby union for a few years

#3. Mako Vunipola

Reports have suggested that the England prop has been left out of England squads of late due to the fact Jones doesn't believe he has enough left in him to reach the 2023 Rugby World Cup. He reportedly told Mako this in a heated discussion in August.

It's suggested the England boss wants to push on with Ellis Genge as his first choice moving forward and doesn't see Vunipola coming back into his plans in the future.

Mako Vunipola of England during the Autumn Nations Cup match between England and Ireland at Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham, London on November 21 2020. - PHOTO: Phil Mingo/PPAUK

CONTINUES ON PAGE FOUR

#4. Mike Brown

Brown revealed in his column recently: ‘I’d had one of my best seasons for Quins (2018/19) with really good attacking stats (2019), but Eddie had pigeon-holed me as a defensive full-back. At the end of this meeting, he asked if I had anything I wanted to say.

Embed from Getty Images

“I challenged his comments that I was just a defensive full-back, saying I thought I had been adding value to the attack, with examples and stats from my season, before saying I would take away all of his points and that I would do everything I could to get into the World Cup squad.

“He did not like that I had contested what he said and went mad. He shouted: ‘Well you lost the f****** ball in contact on Saturday, didn’t you? That’s f****** not good enough. You’re not f****** doing everything you can.'”

Ultimately, Brown wouldn’t be picked for the Rugby World Cup with Jones saying that his clash with teammate Ben Te’o had nothing to do with his omission. He’s not been picked since.

DID YOU KNOW? He married long term partner, fashion designer Eliza Scarlett Woodcock, the daughter of former England international footballer Tony Woodcock in 2016

#5. Alex Goode

Jones wrote in his autobiography that the Sarries legend ‘could not match the pace and snarl of his long-term rival Mike Brown.’

However, according to Brown’s column for the Mail Online, Goode clashed with Jones over this opinion in a heated discussion which led to him being jarsj frozen out of the squad after 2016.

The fullback would never win a recall despite being named the 2019 European Player of the Year.

DID YOU KNOW? He is the nephew of Jo Goode, who won an Olympic bronze in Badminton in Sydney.