Eddie Jones wants consistency from referees

England coach Eddie Jones has urged for consistency from referees in the upcoming edition of the Six Nations tournament.

Jones attended a meeting in London on Wednesday in which coaches were able to discuss with officials any issues ahead of the Championship, which begins next weekend.

The Australian’s areas of greatest concern are the refereeing of defending teams at the maul and scrum feeds.

“The meeting was to try to get some consistency in the game. We all want this tournament to get better and the more everyone can understand what’s going on the better,” Jones said.

“No-one tries to give away a penalty and everyone plays the game on the edge. It’s what side of the edge you go.

“There has been a slacking off in terms of the maul defence, it has gone ridiculously in favour of the defenders rather than the attackers and there needs to be a balance redress.

“We also need parity in the scrum feed. The law says that you have got to put the ball in reasonably straight and you have got to strike for it.

“The referees have got to make sure they referee that because if they don’t you give the attacking team too much of an advantage.

“Our game is based on getting a reasonable contest between attack and defence but referees don’t like to penalise that because they get criticised by the smart guys in the television boxes and they don’t like that.

“So we have got to give them the confidence that that is the right thing for the game, to make the ball go in reasonably straight and the hooker to strike to get a reasonable contest in the scrum.

“It’s such an important part of game. You take the scrum out of our game and what do we have? Rugby league with line-outs. We need the scrum in the game.”

England's title defence in the upcoming Six Nations has been dealt a major blow with nearly 18 players unavailable for the tournament opener on 4th February. This is due to either injury or suspension but the former Australian coach insists the Rugby Football Union is better equipped to handle the situation than the other sides.

Even though they have a significant number of injuries, England still go into the tournament as favourites as you can see from the Unibet Sports Markets.

“Without a doubt the attrition rate is an advantage we have. We have got the most money, we have got the most players and we have got the most depth so we should win,” Jones said.

“The players don’t need telling that message. The players know their responsibility is to be at their best and if we are good enough we beat Italy and if we are good enough in the game after that we beat whoever that is (Wales).

“I don’t need to tell the players that we’ve got more money in the bank than any other union because it’s irrelevant for them.”