Eddie Jones continues mind games by hinting Warren Gatland will quit Wales after Lions tour

Mind games: England’s Eddie Jones
Getty Images
Tom Dutton10 February 2017

Eddie Jones has ramped up the psychological war with Wales by claiming head coach Warren Gatland may quit after the Lions tour this summer, despite having a contract up to the 2019 World Cup.

Having last night opted to keep the Principality Stadium roof open — against Welsh wishes — for tomorrow’s Six Nations clash, England’s head coach is now trying to spread further discord in the opposition ranks.

Jones had already upset Gatland’s plans as Lions head coach by telling him he was not welcome to watch England training until after the Wales match. Now he has suggested that Rob Howley’s role as head coach while Gatland is fulfilling his Lions brief could become a permanent move sooner than expected.

Gatland’s current Wales contract includes the 2019 World Cup but Jones is aware of speculation that the New Zealander has been offered the opportunity to return home to coach one of the Super Rugby franchises.

Gatland has insisted he will see out his contract but this has not stopped Jones muddying the waters by saying: “Howley is having more of an imprint on the team, with more passing. It is similar to what Guy Noves [is doing] with France. Given what might happen post-Lions tour, it is seen as more permanent-temporary job and, accordingly, Rob is trying to influence how they play rather than continue with how Warren played. Wales like to bring the referee into the game and we are going to have to scrum smart.”

Wales are playing their own mind games by insisting George North and Dan Biggar are in danger of missing the match through injury, with a decision on their fitness potentially being left until just before kick-off.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in