‘Hoodwinked’: World reacts to Eddie Jones Japan backflip
Former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones has been grilled by reporters with many left scoffing at the veteran’s new claims.
Eddie Jones says that he did not “feel any guilt at all” about becoming Japan’s head coach, six weeks after he walked out on the Wallabies.
Jones left Australia after leading them to a dismal showing at the Rugby World Cup, and repeatedly denied reports that he was set to take over in Japan.
Australian media had reported that the 63-year-old had interviewed for the job during the Wallabies’ World Cup campaign in France.
On Thursday night Jones finally faced a grilling by reporters.
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Jones’s appointment on Wednesday sparked a furious reaction in the Southern Hemisphere, with former All Blacks great Sonny Bill Williams branding the coach “a disgrace”.
Jones said he did not regret his actions, telling reporters “it sits well with me”.
“I wish Australia all the best,” he told a packed press conference in Tokyo.
“I feel terrible about the results, because I wanted to go back and change Australia.
“But I don’t feel any guilt at all about this process.”
Jones repeated his claim that he had not interviewed for the Japan job until December.
He said his online meeting with a recruitment company shortly before the World Cup was to “share my experiences of Japan”.
He said he was asked in the September meeting to provide a recommendation to JRFU about who the governing body should target for its next head coach. A few months later it is Jones that’s been given the position.
His comments did not pass the smell test with some commentators, however, there was also some support for Jones in comments made by fans on social media.
For a man who repeatedly said he wouldn’t be coaching Japan it’s wild how Eddie Jones is coaching Japan again 😅 pic.twitter.com/ZBIybYOuSf
— BallCarrier (@BallCarrier_) December 14, 2023
Eddie Jones says August 25 Zoom call wasn't an interview.
— Tom Decent (@tomdecent) December 14, 2023
It was 100 per cent an interview. Absolute spin from Jones and JRFU.
Reckons his 1st (and last interview) was last Thursday?
That's a beauty.
Backtracked on comments at Coogee Oval about no contact with recruiters pic.twitter.com/poJCEZgUdg
The Daily Telegraph’s Jamie Pandaram wrote Jones’ suggestions about the September conversation were “a bit rich”.
“The 63-year-old tried to hoodwink Wallabies fans, and now, no matter how he tries to spin it, he can’t be believed.
“Jones, who told media in October that he hadn’t spoken to any recruitment firm, confirmed he had indeed, spoken to a recruitment firm.”
Jones said “everyone is entitled to their own opinion” but he did not feel the need to apologise to Australian fans.
“The only thing I can control is what I did, and it sits well with me — I don’t have a problem with it,” he said.
“If people feel like that, that’s their judgement. I can’t control that.”
Jones quit the Wallabies after two wins from nine Tests since taking over in January, including a worst-ever World Cup performance where they failed to make it out of the pool phase.
His insistence on fast-tracking rookies at the expense of veterans badly backfired in high-pressure games, as did a revolving door of unproven captains.
Jones will officially begin his second stint in charge of Japan on January 1. He previously coached them for three years from 2012 and led them to their historic win over South Africa at the 2015 World Cup.
Jones said his aim was to turn Japan into a team “that has a real identity”.
“Any great team in any sport, it doesn’t matter what shirt they play in, you can see clearly the team that they are,” he said.
“I think we need to develop that with Japan, so that’s going to be one of the major focuses going forward.”
Under Jones, Japan stunned South Africa 34-32 in a match that became known as the “Miracle of Brighton”.
That was only Japan’s second win at a World Cup, and they also went on to beat Samoa and the USA that year before exiting at the pool stage.
They reached the quarter-finals on home soil in 2019 under Jones’s successor Jamie Joseph, but exited at the group stage at this year’s tournament in France.
Jones targeted a return to the World Cup knock-out round in 2027 and said Japan “need to play the game faster than the opposition”.
— with AFP