The Red Rose resisted a fightback from Warren Gatland’s men to secure the result that eventually clinched the championship title. Wales have to pick themselves up for the final round clash with Italy at the Principality Stadium, and Jones admitted their first-half performance was under-par.
“We deserve to be beaten up,” said Jones, when asked whether the criticism was fair. “You don’t go out there to play badly. I’ve been to Twickenham three times and won so I’m pretty comfortable here. But obviously that didn’t show in my first-half performance.
“From the stats the tackle count sums up where we’re are. In fairness to England they played really well and the tackle contest shows the momentum they had, and they took that.”
Gatland’s men fought back from 19-0 with tries from Dan Biggar, George North and Taulupe Faletau to narrow the gap to just four points. But Wales ran-out of time in their bid to snatch a third Six Nations crown in five seasons. And Jones is hoping Wales can rally together after a fragmented defeat at Rugby HQ.
He said: “It’s very easy to tell other people to do their job but ultimately we’re professionals and every individual has to rely upon themselves and be sure of themselves. To a point we didn’t do that as individuals and then obviously you splinter as a side.
“We can be pleased with the way we regrouped with the changes, I thought the bench made a great impact, and the team came through in the last 10-15 minutes but it was too little, too late. Half-time was pretty similar to when we went in at full-time. We were disappointed but we were trying to be composed with the spark that we needed to start on the right foot.
“These things happen, and congratulations to them [England] on a stellar performance.”
