Jones takes pride in England's World Cup campaign
England head coach Eddie Jones has spoken of the pride at how his team conducted themselves during the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
In the final in Yokohama, England were beaten 32-12 by South Africa in their fourth outing in a World Cup final.
The tournament itself was the first to be held in Asia and as a former head coach of Japan, Jones knows more than most the impact it will have had.
“It was a great World Cup and we feel humbled to have been a part of it,” said the 59-year-old.
“We’re disappointed we’re not the world’s best team, the silver medal is not as good as a gold medal but it’s a silver medal.
“I’m proud of our players, of the way they’ve conducted themselves in Japan and I think they’ve been great ambassadors for English rugby and for the sport of rugby.
“I think the game of rugby has grown over the course of this tournament we now have another serious rugby nation and I’m sure Japan are going to push that influence into Asia.”
It was the second time England met the Springboks in the final of a World Cup, and their two tries in the second half helped them to what Jones described as a deserved victory.
“South Africa were worthy winners, they played very well and were too good for us on the day,” he added.
“Unfortunately we couldn’t get into the game, we struggled get into the game and when we had opportunities we didn’t take them.”
Farrell’s pride
England captain Owen Farrell echoed those thoughts of Jones that he was proud to look back at the squad’s effort over their time in Japan.
The tournament saw England reach a first final in 12 years and beat New Zealand at a World Cup for the first time.
“I’m proud to be a part of it, to have come as far as we’ve come but obviously it didn’t go our way,” said Farrell.
“We’ve enjoyed this tournament and a lot people put a lot of work into us and really enjoying it and as I said, it hasn’t gone our way but that won’t take away from it.”
The Saracens back also praised the way that the Springboks went about their work in the final.
“First half especially we probably came in thinking we’ve not really fired too much of a shot,” he added.
“Second half was a bit different, we still felt like we were in the game and we got some momentum but probably not enough and off the back of that we got caught again.”
