Eddie Jones stopped from talking to Nigel Owens and says referee has 'bodyguards' protecting him

Eddie Jones has revealed his frustration at not being allowed to talk to Nigel Owens before he refs England.

Welshman Nigel is set to ref the England v Argentina game tomorrow and Jones is forbidden to meet him before the game.

This is contrary to the usual procedure in Six Nations and autumn internationals where the coach and ref meet on the eve of the game.

This is not the case for the World Cup.

The Guardian reported that Jones said Nigel would have "bodyguards" with on match day to prevent any contact.

He said: "It is a World Rugby regulation and we follow every World Cup regulation to the letter, that is why I am here today [fulfilling media duties].

"So we won’t see the referee before he comes in before the game and he has bodyguards with him, so we can’t get to him, we just smile and say ‘hello’."

Jones added that they had prepared for Nigel's reffing and hoped that he had done the same.

He added: “I think the refereeing has been as good as we could have hoped and that is all we can expect.

"It is what it is. It will be what it is tomorrow and we will accept whatever comes out way. We have prepared for the referee and I am sure the referee has prepared for this game so that is all we can hope for.”