Sometimes You Never Know Just Why You've Lost, Admits Eddie

FRUSTRATED Eddie Jones predicted four years of pain for his England side after they hardly fired a shot in yesterday’s World Cup final defeat to South Africa.

- Adam Hathaway

The Springboks won 32-12 to claim their third global title but Jones’ side were left with a feeling of what might have been.

In contrast to last weekend’s semi-final demolition of New Zealand, England hardly made a chance and all their points came from the boot of Owen Farrell.

They were not helped when prop Kyle Sinckler went off after under three minutes, leaving Dan Cole to play the rest of the game and their scrum creaking.

Jones said his side will be hurting for the next four years until they get another crack at the Webb Ellis Cup in France in 2023.

He said: “It’s not a good day for it to happen. We are going to be kicking stones for four years, and it is hard to kick stones for four years, so we are massively disappointed.

“At the same time, I have got great admiration for what the players did, I can’t tell you how much respect I have got for them.That wasn’t the outcome we expected. They were worthy winners, they played very well and were too good for us on the day.

“We struggled to get into the game, and when we had opportunities we didn’t take them. It was just one of those days when South Africa were too good for us.

“We got in trouble in the scrum, we strugged particularly in the first-half. We made some personnel changes in the second-half and got back into it, but South Africa, for some reason, were too strong for us.