James Haskell defends Eddie Jones against 'cancel mob'

The Aussie said he is determined to help Marcus Smith avoid the same traps that have derailed tennis players momentum since the teenager won the US Open in sensational fashion. 

“The big thing for good young players is distractions,” Jones said.

“The distractions could be the exposure they get in the media, the praise they get, the criticism they get. There can be groups of agents who see this guy as the next big thing. 

“There’s a reason why the young girl who won the US Open hasn’t done so well afterwards. What have you seen her on – the front page of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar or whatever, wearing Christian Dior clothes. All that is a distraction around her”

A number of people, including Judy Murray, have criticized Jones, but Haskell has leapt to the defence of his former boss.

“Honestly, how you think this is sexist is beyond me," said Haskell

“It’s a point about distraction and the pitfalls of fame, that can happen to anyone.

“I can see you desperately want to insight (sic) the cancel mob, but you are going to need to do better than that."

Judging by the names who appear on this list of much-talked-about rugby players who failed to succeed at a level that was expected of them, being English often comes with an extra dose of hype.

Making his debut against Wales, when the then-18-year-old was repeatedly dumped by Welsh centre Gavin Henson is infamous. That day would set back Tait’s development significantly, but he still played in the Rugby World Cup in 2007. After a quiet tournament, Tait lit up the final against South Africa with a dashing break that led to Mark Cueto’s infamously disallowed try.

But if Tait’s footwork in the final demonstrated his talent, he was never able to demonstrate that consistently on the biggest stage. Shifts from outside centre, to wing and then to full-back stunted his progress and were indicative of a possible star whose versatility worked against him ultimately.

The wonderkid won 23 caps for England between 2001 and 2008, and such was his early reputation that he featured for England before his club debut with Bath. A graceful left-footer able to play at fly-half or inside-centre, Barkley should have been a mainstay in the England midfield after the retirement of Will Greenwood.

The strange thing about Barkley is that it is hard to say where it all went wrong. Although he was never blessed with great pace, the playmaker kicked well from the tee and out of hand, was a fine distributor and hardly a weak player in defence. He is possibly the biggest mystery of English rugby from the 2000s.

The Gloucester legend was always a fan favourite and narrowly missed out on selection for the 2003 World Cup, despite being involved in the all-conquering England team that dominated in the southern hemisphere during the 2002 Autumn Internationals.

Although heralded as a potential world-class wing, injury constantly blighted his career and numerous England head coaches looked to other options ahead of him. He ended his career with a pitiful 10 caps, but it could have and should have been so much more.

Sir Clive Woodward tipped the centre to be a global superstar towards the end of his England reign. Although he was initially ignored by Andy Robinson, Smith came into the reckoning for the 2005 Six Nations and was named as part of an enlarged British and Irish Lions squad in 2005.

However, Smith struggled to nail down a regular spot in England squads and he left Leicester Tigers in 2008 after a loss of form. He played for Montpellier for two seasons and then came back to England with Harlequins before retiring in 2012 after a knee injury.

After making his England debut in the 2008 Six Nations, Danny Cipriani appeared to have the rugby world at his feet. The then-21-year-old produced a magnificent display as England thumped Ireland 33-10; surely England had found the heir apparent for legend Jonny Wilkinson.

Sadly this was not the case as controversy after controversy followed, meaning despite his incredible talent ,the 32-year-old has accumulated just 16 caps."