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Rugby star Joe Launchbury has revealed he wasn't his former England coach Eddie Jones' cup of tea when he first assumed the role. Launchbury, 35, admitted that while he didn't necessarily enjoy or agree with Jones' psychological testing approach, it ultimately improved his playing abilities.

Jones took the England coaching role in 2015 when Launchbury played for Wasps, remaining in charge until his sacking in 2022. Under Jones' guidance, England secured three Six Nations victories. Launchbury featured prominently in all three successes before earning his 70th and final England cap in 2022. Despite that, the lock, who is set to retire this season with Harlequins, recently spoke openly about the difficulties of playing under Jones. The Australian, currently in charge of Japan, was known for consistently making unpredictable team selections, meaning players like Launchbury never felt their spots were safe.

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While this resulted in a degree of mental fatigue and frustration for the former England player of the year at the time, he believes the demanding environment pushed him to develop and defiantly keep his place in the team.

He toldThe Times: "I look back on my international career with a huge amount of pride as I got the opportunity to play young when I hadn't played many games for Wasps, but was entrusted to play when I thought I wouldn't have been good enough. I really took that opportunity, and loved my time there.

"To be brutally honest, when Eddie [Jones] took over, I probably wasn't his cup of tea, but I was really proud of how I changed my game. I was probably on the way out a few times, but managed to remodel a few things and not necessarily prove him wrong - he'd probably say that was part of his technique - but I'm proud I showed resilience to play as many times as I did.

"I'm so thankful that he must have capped me 40-odd times, but I always felt, and maybe a lot of players in that time felt that they were being pushed, and always one bad game from being out of the team. I was always striving and striving to stay in. I guess that's what international rugby should be. That brought the best out of me, and I might not have agreed with it at the time, but looking back now, I'm so thankful, as you see some players plateau a bit and don't kick on."

Launchbury recently announced he will hang up his boots at the end of this season. Yet the veteran was clearly emotional at the final whistle after entering the fray as a second-half substitute during the 52-33 loss to Sale Sharks. He acknowledged the crowd and took in the occasion, suggesting it could have been his final outing.

Launchbury had also walked out before the match alongside his wife and children, adding to the sense of a farewell occasion. And a social media post from his wife strongly hinted that he had brought forward his retirement.

The post read: "The last game. It was an emotional day watching Joe play one more time. So much of our life has been focused around rugby and it feels very surreal that our weekends won't be spent watching and supporting Joe playing. We are so proud of him and all that he has achieved."