Sir Clive Woodward has encouraged England’s rugby stars to break their silence on allegations involving their former coach Eddie Jones as he called for Rugby Football Union (RFU) chiefs to be ‘held to account’.

Former England scrum-half Danny Care has accused Jones of leading a culture of fear during his seven-year tenure as England coach, which came to an abrupt end in 2022.

The Harlequins star levelled shocking allegations towards the Australian coach in a snippet from his forthcoming autobiography, ‘Everything Happens for a Reason’, comparing life under Jones to “living in a dictatorship, under a despot who disappeared people”.

Care also made claims about Jones’ allegedly playing mind games with the squad, as well as poor treatment of staff.

“Did Eddie rule by fear? Of course he did. Everyone was bloody terrified of him,” Care recalled in the excerpt published by The Times. “Remember what it felt like when someone was being bullied at school and you were just glad it wasn’t you? That was the vibe.”

Woodward, who guided England to the 2003 Rugby World Cup, believes the RFU must launch an investigation and asked others players to come forward to provide their account of working with Jones.

“The comments made by former scrum-half Danny Care about what it was like to work as a player under ex-coach Eddie Jones show the culture of the England team has been way off the mark for a number of years. That has to change,” Woodward wrote in his Daily Mail column.

He added: “Has anyone at the RFU asked [current coach Steve] Borthwick why that happened? They must do. If one thing can be learned from Care’s honest revelations of the Jones era, it is that regular checks and balances must be made on the international set-up.

“To do so is only healthy. It holds the leaders of the organisation to account and ensures the highest possible standards are maintained. I would also urge the players of today to find a voice, however difficult it can be.”

In a statement, the RFU defended their protocols and claimed that a system was put in place to report concerns, only for no incidents to be reported.

“The elite game is a high-performance environment, and we recognise the demands of this can be challenging which is why we offer a range of support services for players,” a spokesperson said.

“During his time with England, there were no complaints made about Eddie Jones by players either to the RFU or via anonymous feedback surveys or through our confidential whistleblowing service.

“The RFU’s confidential whistleblowing service which is for all players and staff, it is promoted every season, and we always investigate any concerns raised. We have been in contact with Danny Care, he has made it clear he doesn’t want to take any formal action and that he also has high praise for Eddie in many areas of his book.”