Jones wins race for Japan head coach job: reports

Forty-two days after walking away from the Wallabies, Eddie Jones has been chosen to return as head coach of Japan, according to multiple Japanese reports.

As revealed by this masthead, Jones took part in a second interview for the position with a Japanese Rugby Football Union panel in a Tokyo hotel on Thursday, as one of the final two candidates alongside South African coach Frans Ludeke.

That interview followed Jones’ first interview with the JRFU via Zoom on August 25, which was also revealed by this masthead but was denied by Jones, and has continued to be repeatedly denied since.

But after the second interview, three Japanese media outlets report Jones has beaten Ludeke to the head coach job and will return to the role he held between 2012-2015.

The appointment is not yet official, with reports saying sign-off from the JRFU board is still required at a meeting on December 13. A press conference is reportedly scheduled for the same day. The JRFU declined to comment.

In a further development, the Sponichi sports website also reported recently departed Wallabies general manager Chris Webb had flown to Japan and would potentially take a role in Jones’ team. Webb has been a long-standing colleague of Jones dating back to the Wallabies in the early 2000s, and has also worked extensively in Japanese rugby. He is currently a consultant with Toshiba. Sponichi reportedly spoke with Webb at Haneda Airport, where he said: “Nothing has been decided yet.”

Former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones.Credit: Getty

Webb was contacted for comment.

“It was revealed on the 8th that Eddie Jones (63), who served in the same position from 2012 to 2015, has been confirmed to return as the next head coach (HC) of the Japan national rugby team,” the Sponichi website said, via online translation.

“If approved by the Board of Directors on the 13th, he will be officially appointed for the first time in eight years.

“Regarding the selection of the next head coach, Japan Association President Masato Tsuchida, who has a close relationship with Jones, led the return and made a secret offer to Jones, who had been Australia’s coach this spring.

Eddie Jones speaking with media at Coogee Oval after the Rugby World Cup.Credit: Getty

“An open call was held in July, with League1 Division 1 Tokyo Bay head coach Frans Ludeke and others nominating. Final interviews were held with the two finalists in Tokyo on the 7th. As originally planned, Mr Jones was selected.”

Yahoo Sports, the website that first linked Jones with a return to the Japan role on September 12, reported it was “confirmed” that Jones “will be appointed as the new head coach of the Japan national rugby team.”

“This is his first return since leading the Japanese national team at the 2015 England Games,” a report on Yahoo Sports said, via online translation. “The proposal has already passed the association’s selection committee and is expected to be approved at the board meeting on the 13th.”

Eddie Jones and Japan’s captain Michael Leitch in 2015 after beating the Springboks in the Rugby World Cup.Credit: AP

In a report headed “Eddie Jones to be appointed as the next head coach of the Japan National Team”, Nikkan Sports also said Jones’ official appointment was imminent.

“According to sources, the association’s top leaders, Chairman Masato Tsuchida and Managing Director Kensuke Iwabuchi, are believed to have attended, and Australian media also reported that both were present,” Nikkan Sports said.

“Frans Ludeke (55), who led Tokyo Bay to its first League One title last season as head coach, was also mentioned as a final candidate, but Jones seems to have settled on his direction. It is expected to be approved at the board meeting on the 13th.”

Jones’ appointment this week, if ratified by the JRFU board, will come after repeated denials from the 63-year-old that he was involved in the process for selection of the new Japan coach.

Applications for the job closed on August 18, but since Jones was first linked with a return to Japan in September, and following this masthead’s revelation about the August 25 Zoom interview ahead of the Rugby World Cup, the ex-Wallabies coach publicly denied involvement on 14 occasions.

After a first stint as an assistant coach in 2006, Jones was head coach of Japan between 2012 and 2015 and led the then tier-two rugby nation to a famous upset victory over South Africa at the 2015 Rugby World Cup in Brighton, England. It was Japan’s second victory at a Rugby World Cup.

Less than one year into a five-year contract, Jones resigned as Wallabies coach on October 29, citing unfulfilled promises from Rugby Australia about a move to centralisation and an increase in funding, via a private equity deal that RA subsequently shelved in favour of an $80 million loan.

Jones’ calamitous second stint as Wallabies coach was one of the major reasons Sydney business figure Hamish McLennan, who led the process to recruit him, was later ousted as Rugby Australia chairman.

Sports news, results and expert commentary. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.