ENGLAND’s treatment so far in Australia has been “demeaning and disrespectful”, says head coach Eddie Jones.
England beat the Wallabies in Australia for only the fourth time with a 39-28 victory in Saturday’s first Test.
But Jones was upset with a promotional video shown before the game, as well as a question asked by former Wallabies flanker Steve Hoiles afterwards.
“The team has been disrespected,” said Jones. “I’m not worried about myself, I can handle myself.”
The Australian, 56, added: “I don’t talk about it to the team. We talk about rugby.”
In a trailer shown repeatedly in the build-up to the first Test, pundits including Tim Horan and Phil Kearns mockingly highlighted past English failures, including last year’s early exit at the World Cup.
The pundits said a successful series for the World Cup finalists was a foregone conclusion, but Jones says his England team are determined not to spurn the opportunity of an historic victory.
“You’ve seen the promotions… and the kind of questions we get,” he added. “It’s quite demeaning and disrespectful to the team.”
During the post-match news conference, former Australia international Hoiles told Jones he was in the press “more than Donald Trump”, before posing a question laced with sexual innuendo.
“Without a doubt we’ve been disrespected,” said Jones, whose side have a chance to wrap up the series in the second Test in Melbourne on Saturday.
“You get that sort of ridiculous question from Hoiles.”
