England on right track, but have tested fans' patience, says RFU boss

RFU Chief Executive Bill Sweeney has indicated that England are now on the right track while acknowledging that they have tested fans’ patience of late. 

The men in white, led by flanker Courtney Lawes, managed to come back from being 1-0 down to defeat the Wallabies 2-1 in the recent series on the latter’s home turf. However, this comes after a poor Six Nations competition in which the English lost three of their five encounters to finish mid-table.  

“We are not blind to the last two Six Nations, they have both been disappointing and we know that," Sweeney said, speaking to BBC Sport. 

"We have a very loyal but demanding set of fans, so have we been testing the patience of the England fans? Yes we probably have been. 

"Behind the scenes, in looking at the performances and looking at the direction we are going in, we felt we were going in the right direction. 

"If you look at how some of these players are performing, and the players that weren't involved who are waiting to come in, we believe we are on track. 

"We are going to have to improve a lot when you look at some of the sides out there at the moment, but I do believe we are heading in the right direction." 

Sweeney also commented on Eddie Jones’ recent confrontations with Australian fans during the series. 

"Any England against Australia head-to-head generates a lot of tension and some people get a bit too carried away with it, maybe alcohol-fuelled or not, I don't know. 

"Eddie is a proud Australian but he is also head coach of the England team. Was he going to be a lightning rod for certain comments? Maybe. 

"But I think Rugby Australia handled it really well, they came in right away and sorted it out, no messing around. I think we've drawn a line under that. 

"He was under intense pressure going to Australia and he reacted to it. Sometimes with hindsight you think 'OK I could have handled it differently', but I think that particular individual had been niggling away for quite a while. We have drawn it to a close now."