Rugby: England coach Eddie Jones slams rival Michael Cheika for 'staining rugby's image'

Eddie Jones, the England head coach, looks on during the England captain's run at Twickenham Stadium. Photo / Getty Images

England coach Eddie Jones has accused Australia rival Michael Cheika of staining rugby's image with his public outbursts ahead of Saturday's Twickenham showdown.

Cheika escalated the war-of-words on Thursday by claiming Jones has a 'chip on his shoulder', having already accused his former Randwick team-mate of tarnishing his legacy.

The verbal exchange began when Jones questioned the legality of Australia's scrum on Saturday, cranking up the tension as England plot to end 2016 unbeaten.

'If they want to carry on like that, it is their own business,' Jones said on Friday morning ahead of the captain's run. 'It doesn't worry me at all. If he chooses to say those things then it's his choice.

'Everyone makes a choice in life about what they say and how they behave. If that's how he wants to behave then that's entirely up to him. We are comfortable how we have behaved.

'Rugby's a respectful game and we represent all the kids playing rugby, supporters and we want to behave in a respectful way.

'The great sports games in the world - golf, tennis and rugby - they stand alone because they have standards of behaviour.'

Having beaten Australia 3-0 during the summer tour, England are now challenging to equal the record of 14 consecutive victories set in 2003 by Sir Clive Woodward's side.

Jones is also plotting to complete a clean sweep over his home nation - claiming Cheika's side will be driven by revenge as they face England a HQ for the first time since the World Cup.

'It's their last chance of redemption because they've had a tough year,' said Jones. 'If they win this Test, they can go home happy. If we win this Test, we create history.

'We wanted to work harder and get the players to aspire to be better. We want to be the number one team in the world and to achieve that we need to keep getting better every day.'