Mike Brown has added to the scrutiny on
Eddie Jones by saying he was on the receiving end of a foul-mouthed rant when
the England coach left him out of his squad for the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
Full-back Brown was involved in a training camp bust-up with Ben Te’o
during an England training camp in Treviso.
Jones, who by that stage had left Brown out since giving him the last of
his 72 England caps in 2018, used the incident to explain why he had left
both backs out of his squad.
Brown said Te’o was responsible for the altercation by punching him in the
face, but insisted an angry Jones was in no mood to listen to his
explanations.
“That wasn’t the reason why I didn’t go to the World Cup,” Brown,
England’s most capped full-back, told RugbyPass.
“I think it was just easier for Eddie to put it on that, as I’d kind of
been getting pushed out of the team as that season had gone on.
“I said to him, ‘Look, I understand selection is what it is, but don’t put
it on that. You haven’t even asked me what happened. With all due respect, I
didn’t really do anything. I don’t feel like it was my fault.”
The now 36-year-old Brown said Jones told him his security guards had
witnessed the incident but reacted furiously when the player asked to see
their written reports.
“So he just switched and turned on me, effing and blinding,” recalled
Brown. “It wasn’t nice.
“He said, ‘Who the F do you think you are?’ because I was going back at
him and he doesn’t like that.
“It’s a shame it ended up like that. I wanted clarity on why I wasn’t
getting picked, not some made-up excuse.”
In Brown’s absence, England went all the way to the World Cup final in
Japan only to be well beaten 32-12 by South Africa in the showpiece match.
Brown’s comments come with Jones having presided over a second successive
Six Nations where England lost three games, with the Rugby Football Union
issuing a vote of confidence in the veteran Australian coach.
Jones is currently in Japan, where he is a consultant to the Suntory
Sungoliath team, even though many of his senior England players are currently
taking part in major European club matches.
Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS)