Eddie Jones has vowed to never travel on public transport again after what he experienced last weekend.
The day after England’s shock Six Nations defeat to Scotland, Jones was Sir Alex Ferguson’s guest at Old Trafford for Manchester United’s win over Chelsea.
After arriving in Manchester from Edinburgh, the 58-year-old was posing for selfies with fans. The atmosphere then turned sour when a group of Scottish fans approached him and began verbally abusing him and physically intimidating him.
BBC News sports editor Dan Roan released some footage of the incident on Twitter. (Warning: language used in the video is NSFW.)
VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: England coach Eddie Jones being verbally abused as he arrived in Manchester on Sunday after rail journey from Edinburgh. Disgusting after he was good enough to pose for photos. Now says doesn’t feel safe on public transport. (Warning: contains offensive language) pic.twitter.com/z2RetgKZOG
— Dan Roan (@danroan) March 1, 2018
According to The Telegraph, British Transport Police is also investigating a second incident that occurred on as Jones travelled back to London after the football match on a train full of football fans. Another passenger alerted the police who boarded the train at a later stop. No arrests were made.
The head coach told the Telegraph at the England training base in Oxford that he would never travel by public transport again following the “uncomfortable” experience.
“I try and do the right thing by the fans but if that happens then you’ve got to have a look at your own safety. I never knock back a request for a selfie unless I’m racing to somewhere. I did a lot.”
“For me to travel on public transport, I thought was OK. I’m a human being. I don’t consider myself any different from anyone else. But I’ll make sure I won’t in future. It’s as simple as that. I can’t. Because it was shown on Sunday what happens when I do.”
“That’s the world we live in. It wasn’t comfortable. It was a bit of both [physical as well as verbal]. After a loss, no I wouldn’t [do it again]. It’s [all] part of the challenge.”
This isn’t the first time Jones has experienced this kind of abuse. He also revealed that he had once had a similar experience while attending a match at Bath
