Jones dubbed ‘menacing clown’ in Australian media

Cheika criticised Jones for manufacturing a chip on his shoulder because England was doing better than expected, and on the verge of a 14th consecutive win to tie the national record.

Since his appointment as England coach just over a year ago, Jones has transformed English rugby. However, with Eddie Jones at the helm Australia were taken apart in their own back yard as England became the first touring side to record three straight wins down under since South Africa in 1971.

Stuart Lancaster was a popular head coach before the World Cup past year, but Jones has undoubtedly stepped things up a notch.

Eddie Jones has been mocked up as a clown by an Australian newspaper ahead of England’s clash with the Wallabies at Twickenham. There were no grey areas.

On Friday Jones stood in the same room, now with 12 wins under his belt and all manner of one-off gongs to sit alongside the Six Nations trophy in the Twickenham cabinet. But Jones is not retrospective, nor one for drifting into blissful nostalgia.

“You know what I mean: “Oh I don’t want them looking at ours so I’ll point to someone else’s”, you know?”

Jones has never been shy about engaging the opposition, verbally, and from a position of strength, he has been on the relentless needle against a vulnerable Cheika.

“We have improved as well, but if we think playing the same style or standard we did in the summer is going to be good enough this time – it is not”. “We have certainly moved on”.

‘They have got some issues with the way they scrum so we need to have a meeting with the referee and we will invite the Australian coaching staff to come along’.

Saturday’s Test against the Wallabies should be their hardest game this year.

Jones has received the same treatment as Cheika was afforded by the New Zealand press during the Rugby Championship – and indeed Warren Gatland following his remarks about All Blacks supporters – having earlier this week been accused of tarnishing his legacy with his “vitriolic” comments about the Australian media during the England’s series whitewash in June.

The Wallabies meet England at 3.30am Sunday.

This week, with all the pre-match chat centring on a salivating scrum battle, Cheika has gone all guns blazing by picking Timani to hopefully give the Wallabies an advantage and target England who are without a player of significant influence in Billy Vunipola. Maybe they want to get us kicked out and have a job there?

“We’ve practised for that, we’re equipped to handle it and then we’ll win the game in the last 20”.

Foley explained the Wallabies stuttering performances this year but thinks the building blocks are in place for another Australian revival.

Robinson who scored 30 tries in 56 global matches, including a memorable effort in the 2003 final against Australia says the depth of the current squad, their growing self-belief, and their ability to find ways to win despite not being at their best, were all hallmarks of the 2003 team. He also emphasised that Cheika had been invited, as Australia had complained in June that they had not been informed of one meeting.

Of Wallaby sides to play 10 or more matches in a year, only two teams – those in 1958 and 2005 – have had a poorer winning percentage than what Cheika’s men will end up with (40 per cent) if they don’t hit their straps at Twickenham.