Fan who called England coach Eddie Jones a ‘traitor’ revealed as Nine Network employee
The fan who left England coach Eddie Jones furious after calling him a “traitor” has been revealed as an employee of the Nine Network.
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The Wallabies fan who called Eddie Jones a “traitor” faces suspension of his SCG membership.
James Paton, a sales executive for media company Nine, was filmed pointing at England’s Australian-born coach Jones after his side defeated Australia last Saturday and saying, ‘You’re a traitor’, to which a furious Jones confronted him and repeatedly said ‘Come here and say it’.
News Corp Australia understands Paton reached out to Jones on Monday to apologise.
Paton blocked calls and did not return a message when asked for comment.
Nine did not return calls.
It can be revealed that Paton, an SCG member, is set to have that membership suspended for breaching the organisation’s regulations.
Members are expected to adhere to certain behavioural standards, and Paton’s inflammatory taunt to a national coach is viewed as bringing the SCG and its patrons into disrepute.
SCG officials would not comment on the situation, however they are working with Rugby Australia to determine the punishment for Paton.
RA slammed the actions of Paton and another fan who, in a separate incident, climbed on the roof of the stadium.
The man who climbed on the roof of the Bill O’Reilly Stand and appeared to urinate has already been charged by police, and has now been issued with a life ban from rugby events.
“Rugby Australia is disappointed with the reported incidents within the crowd at the Sydney Cricket Ground for the Third Test of the Wallabies’ series with England,” RA chief executive Andy Marinos said in a statement on Monday morning.
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“The deplorable actions of the alleged intruder that made his way to the roof of the grandstand were disgraceful and dangerous.
“This individual has been issued with a life ban from Rugby Australia events – and we will continue to support the authorities in their handling of the matter.
“The offensive remarks made by spectators in the Members’ areas towards England staff were unacceptable – and not representative of the values of rugby.
“We have a zero-tolerance policy for inappropriate behaviour, and we are working with Venues NSW on appropriate sanctions for these individuals.
“Rugby prides itself on values of respect and integrity – as seen in the players of both teams after the final whistle of a hard-fought series at the SCG on Saturday night.
“It is our expectation that spectators adhere to these values of respect and integrity when attending rugby matches – and, we would hope, in society in general.”
Rugby Aus slams Eddie abuser as revenge plan revealed
—Jamie Pandaram
Rugby Australia has slammed the actions of a punter at the SCG who labelled Eddie Jones “a traitor” and another who climbed on the roof of the stadium.
Jones heatedly confronted the man after the insult, in an ugly aftermath to England’s 2-1 series win for the Ella-Mobbs Trophy, and RA is now working on penalties for the fan.
The man who climbed the roof of the Bill O’Reilly Stand and appeared to urinate has already been charged by police, and has now been issued with a life ban from rugby events.
“Rugby Australia is disappointed with the reported incidents within the crowd at the Sydney Cricket Ground for the Third Test of the Wallabies’ series with England,” RA chief executive Andy Marinos said in a statement on Monday morning.
“The deplorable actions of the alleged intruder that made his way to the roof of the grandstand were disgraceful and dangerous.
“This individual has been issued with a life ban from Rugby Australia events – and we will continue to support the authorities in their handling of the matter.
“The offensive remarks made by spectators in the Members’ areas towards England staff were unacceptable – and not representative of the values of rugby.
“We have a zero-tolerance policy for inappropriate behaviour, and we are working with Venues NSW on appropriate sanctions for these individuals.
“Rugby prides itself on values of respect and integrity – as seen in the players of both teams after the final whistle of a hard-fought series at the SCG on Saturday night.
“It is our expectation that spectators adhere to these values of respect and integrity when attending rugby matches – and, we would hope, in society in general.”
Traitor’s revenge: Eddie reveals ultimate Wallabies humiliation
A ruthless Eddie Jones foreshadowed a repeat of one of Australia’s most humiliating moments at next year’s World Cup, following an ugly confrontation with a Wallabies fan during the 2-1 series victory at the SCG.
The Tasmanian-born former Wallabies coach was labelled “a traitor” by a spectator in the stands and had to be held back by a team official as he yelled “Come here and say it” repeatedly before being forced to walk away.
After his England side claimed the Ella-Mobbs Trophy following last Saturday’s 21-17 victory in the decider, Jones revealed he’d already worked out that his team and Australia could meet again in the World Cup quarter-final next year in France.
And if that happens, he wants a repeat of 2007 – when England smashed the Wallabies’ scrum in Marseilles to win 12-10 – before they lost the final to South Africa, where coincidentally Jones was then an assistant coach.
If England win Pool D and the Wallabies finish runner-up in Pool C to Wales, as was the case at the 2019 World Cup, the two sides will meet at the same venue as Australia’s 2007 shame.
“I’ve had a look at it, vaguely, we’ll be in Marseilles somewhere,” Jones said.
“In 2007, I was with South Africa, and I remember walking in the ground and all these Australian supporters were saying ‘da da da da’.
“Anyway, we get in there and I’m in a nice box, polo shirt on, shorts, with Jake White, having a nice cold Heineken and watching England absolutely demolish the Australian scrum.
“So that image is in my head mate.
“But the only difference is I won’t have a nice cold Heineken in my hand.”
Jones is preparing England’s campaign by visiting NRL and AFL coaching heavyweights Craig Bellamy and Simon Goodwin this week.
Meanwhile, Wallabies coach Dave Rennie will spend the week reviewing footage of his side’s blunders across the series – at least he expects Quade Cooper, Jordan Petaia and Scott Sio to recover from injuries to be available for The Rugby Championship starting in three weeks against Argentina, while Darcy Swain will return from suspension.
But it will be a far more enjoyable week for Jones and his coaching team, who will be in Melbourne visiting the Storm, Demons and Carlton.
Former AFL coach Neil Craig, who led Adelaide and was director of coaching at Carlton, is head of high performance at England under Jones.
“Bellamy we know, he’s been into our camp, we’ve been into his,” Jones said.
“We’ve got Neil Craig, they’ve got statues of him at every club so we’ll just go and shine the statue when we get in.
“Simon Goodwin at Melbourne, Carlton we know people, so we’ll have a good experience when we get down there.
“It’s about how you run your team, relationships, your communication methods.
“The tactical side, this Test series wasn’t won on tactics, this Test series was won as it usually is; on how hard you’re prepared to fight for each other.
“You obviously need a tactical framework.
“We’re always trying to get a bit more out of players – how can we get an extra one per cent out of a player, how we can get an extra two per cent out of another player, how can we get a player whose played 70 Tests to believe they can keep getting better?
“They’re the coaching issues that we have, so they’re the things we want to find more information out of how you can do it in a better way.”
Rennie must also find those extra percentages in his players if they are to turn brave performances into victories when trophies are on the line.
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Originally published as Fan who called England coach Eddie Jones a ‘traitor’ revealed as Nine Network employee
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