English paper jumps the gun and publishes ‘England win Grand Slam’ article

All those pre-planned tweets and social media images that will never see the light of day...

Planning ahead is often a good thing but even the best of intentions can't twist fate's arm. Newspapers, websites and the English Rugby Football Union will have done a big of the leg-work to prepare themselves in the eventuality of a win for Eddie Jones' men in Dublin. Unfortunately for all of them, Ireland had their number and triumphed 13-9. They finished as champions but the celebrations, according to Jones, were bittersweet. Former England outhalf Stuart Barnes was at the game and contributed a piece on how Ireland shut down Billy Vunipola and his teammates with a display that almost matched their Soldier Field intensity. The Times appeared to jump the gun somewhat, however, when a Barnes article lauding England winning the Grand Slam appeared on the online site: 'From the appointment of Eddie Jones through to securing back-to-back Grand Slams and a world record sequence of tier-one Test victories [19], this has been an almost unbelievable tale.' Not almost unbelievable. Actually unbelievable as it never happened! https://twitter.com/writtenoff_mufc/status/843364147999981568 No media outlet is perfect. We have made our fair shares of mistakes and been caught on the hop in the past. Still, this Grand Slam gaffe is pretty funny. This article first appeared on SportsJOE.ie