Jones was hired to replace the outgoing Dave Rennie after just over two years in charge, returning to the post after 17 years away with a contract until 2027 but his second spell has not gone to plan and there have been calls for him to be removed from his position – something that McLennan has batted away.
“I was really concerned that we would get knocked out at the pool stages, which is why we made the change from Dave to Eddie,” McLennan told The Telegraph. “So, we wanted to give ourselves the best possible chance of going deeper. That is the great irony of the situation.
“Eddie is a fantastic coach. People may not like the way he conducts himself in the media but he has worked his ass off and he is a smart guy. He has a great win rate and a great World Cup record versus a coach [Rennie] that had never been to a World Cup and had just lost to Italy.”
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