From England head coach Eddie Jones to referee Nigel Owens, we look back at the best quotes from 2017…
1. “He couldn’t finish training. I think he ran into my dog. Annie is a pretty tricky runner and sometimes she gets off the leash. But we have plenty of back-ups.”
– Eddie Jones on Owen Farrell’s injury after he missed training before their Calcutta Cup clash against Scotland.
3. “I saw the witch doctor for two hours a day and she said she found what the illness was. She found out that there were three lady spirits who had married themselves on to me for the last three years. The witch doctor told me that was why I had been injured. The spirits wanted me for themselves – they wanted to punish me and injuring me was the way to do it. Every time I played – bang!”
– Manu Tuilagi on his decision to consult a witch doctor in his native Samoa in an attempt to cure his long-standing injury problems.
4. “The tackle was fair.. Hey come on, you’re playing rugby remember.”
– Bath scrum-half Fotuali’i flew off the line to smash Eric Escande, leaving him down on the turf in pain. After some complaints from Toulon players, Owens responded with this brilliant one-liner
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5. “I am the referee and not your coach”.
– Romain Poite to James Haskell during the England vs Italy match.
6. “It’s a constant challenge working out which is which. We had it worked out, then Tom Curry got his haircut so we’re back to square one.”
– Eddie Jones commenting on the Curry twins before England toured Argentina.
