sport news Australian Eddie Jones drove players and coaches to breaking point as England ... trends now
When Eddie Jones was appointed England coach in 2015, I asked him how he thought he'd get along with the British media.
Having been working in the UK for two years as sports correspondent for a major Australian media group, I'd seen the English press in action up close and I knew that when they got a sniff of blood, they were as ruthless as a Great White shark.
'I'm telling you Eddie,' I said. 'They're like nothing you've ever experienced.'
He didn't seem concerned, saying that he had once been given a piece of sound advice by rugby league coach Brian Smith.
Aussie Eddie Jones has been sacked by as England's head coach after the side has its worst season since 2008
'He told me that when it comes to the media, you're never as good as they say you are, or as bad as they say you are. I always keep that in mind.'
Trouble was, when the British press starting baying for Eddie's head after last month's 27-13 loss to the Springboks at Twickenham, Smith's words didn't apply.
Eddie really was as bad as they said he was.
With just five wins and a draw from 12 Tests in 2022 – England's worst season since 2008 - it was no surprise that England rugby CEO Bill Sweeney expressed being 'really disappointed' by the team's performance.
But sacking the coach just 10 months out from the next World Cup? It was a big call.
After all, over the past seven seasons Jones had recorded a 73 percent success rate in his 81 matches in charge, better than any other England coach. He had taken the side to three Six Nations titles, a Grand Slam and a record-equaling 18 consecutive Test wins.
He had also enhanced his reputation as a master of Rugby World Cup preparation. In 2003 he took the Wallabies to the final. In 2007 he was assistant coach of the South African team that won. In 2015 his Japan side pulled off arguably the biggest upset in the game's history when they beat the Springboks and, four years later, he took England to the final.
And it wasn't all plain sailing either. In both 2003 and 2019 his sides struggled in the lead-up and there were calls for him to be sacked months before the tournament kicked off.
Yet both teams came good at the right time, just like Eddie said they would. In 2003 reporters described Jones as having given the Wallabies a 'Melbourne Cup preparation'.
As his former Wallaby and ACT Brumbies player Matt Giteau said last night, 'He plans and plans years in advance for this competition. It's the one competition he's got consistently right time and time again.'
Matt Giteau (pictured passing the ball during a training session when Jones was Wallabies coach in 2003) defended his former coach, saying he was the perfect mentor ahead of next year's World Cup
Still, even knowing all that – and with the prospect of having to hand over a reported $1 million pay-out to end his contract early - England sacked him.
Which raises the question: surely there's got to be more to it than just losing six Tests?
Of course there is. Much as he is a master coach, Eddie Jones has another skill. He can piss people off more than just about anyone else in world sport.
In 2017 I approached Eddie with the idea of collaborating on a biography.
In the years that I had been dealing with him as coach of the Brumbies, Wallabies, Queensland Reds, Japan and England, I found him to be one of the most interesting, charismatic and intriguing characters I had ever dealt with.
Eddie Jones, who made his name playing for Randwick in Shute Shield before a storied coaching career is a polarising figure for many players, coaches, administrators and fans...but also one of the great characters of world rugby
Most of all, I thought he was fun, and I hoped that other people would find a book about him fun as well.
Unfortunately, Eddie informed me that he had already signed a book deal with someone else. Unperturbed, I decided to push ahead
