Why England aren't the darlings of Europe in Eddie Jones's twisted world

Eddie Jones pauses for a moment. The England head coach, who boasts the greatest record that the nation has seen after losing just one of his 23 Tests in charge of the national team, is preparing to try and make history by winning a third consecutive Six Nations championship.

“Well, it’s different, isn’t it? You go into a major tournament – and this is one of the major tournaments in the world – if you go in as favourites it comes with massive expectations. Fans, supporters, media, sponsors ... It’s how you react to that expectation.”

You’d be forgiven for thinking that Jones is talking about England, given that they have won 22 Tests under the Australian’s tenure that includes two Six Nations championships, one Grand Slam and whitewash tours of Australia and Argentina.

No. Jones is instead talking about “Six Nations favourites” Ireland, who he says have been installed as favourites by the media. “Well, if you read the press – which I do – Ireland have got a centrally-contracted system, their players are in great nick, their three provinces have done well in the European club system.

“England have all these injuries and we don’t have central contracting. We’re lucky to have one side in the European club championship [quarter-finals]. So how can we compete?”

There is a sense of frustration from Jones that his dominant England side do not get the credit that they deserve. For many last year, Ireland were seen as tournament favourites and were backed to steal the championship on the final day – they certainly lived up to that billing in Dublin by defeating England, but Jones’s side had already secured retained their title before departing for the Irish capital.

Those predictions largely stemmed from the absence of a key player – Billy Vunipola. The powerful No 8 didn’t appear until the final game of the championship, and this time around he probably won’t even make it for the finale on 17 March, having been sidelined for 12 weeks with a fractured arm. Without him, England still managed to win the Six Nations title, and the defeat by Ireland would be their only one of the entire calendar year in what proved another successful run of results for Jones through the summer and autumn.

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Jones’s approach is not through bitterness, and neither is it the same siege mentality that Jose Mourinho is renowned for throughout his football career, but it is somewhere in between. That’s why he takes exception to the praise that comes Ireland’s and – in particular – Scotland’s way, when maybe it should be spilling over onto England’s plate.

“We can’t tell whether we’re darlings or not,” Jones said. “All I can remember is last year we won every game apart from one and our rugby was rubbish!

“[Scotland] They’re big darlings, aren’t they? How excited do people get when the ball goes from side to side with Scotland. Murrayfield grows an extra 10,000 people but to play that under the pressure of expectation is going to be a different question put to the team. They‘ve got a great young coach, [he’s a] bright guy Gregor – makes me feel like it should be time to retire – and he’s got them playing well. But it’s different when you go in as underdogs from when you go and you’re expected to win and play with that panache.”

Jones had the same warning for Ireland. “They’ve got a great coach and they’ve got good leadership in the team so I’m sure they’ll be able to handle it. But there’s always that question there...”

Joe Schmidt, the Ireland coach, refused to take the bait – or rather the “grenade” – no matter how much momentum that his side have built up over the last year on the international stage as well as with Leinster and Munster reaching the European Champions Cup quarter-finals and Ulster impressing in elimination.

“I know Eddie is excited about the people he’s got, he’s just not telling you that,” Schmidt said. “It must be on the back of having 12 teams to select from and the eight days he’s had in camp as opposed to us having three. I know he’s going to throw in the odd grenade, and fair play to him for doing it. It keeps us on our toes.”

Neither coach would discuss a Grand Slam shootout on the final weekend at Twickenham, which is no surprise. The Six Nations has proven itself a gruelling slog that throws up all sorts of surprises along the way: a win for Italy here, a hit-and-miss France side blowing aside England one week before being hammered by Wales the next, and just about everything in between.

But in the last two years, the same result has been produced, and whatever happens between now and 17 March, you would not put it past Jones and England to lift the Six Nations trophy once again. Not that he himself would tell you that.