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Eddie Jones' plea to JRFU bosses after several heavy defeats
By AFP
Japan head coach Eddie Jones has urged his side to keep the faith despite lacklustre results that have included several heavy defeats since his second stint as head coach almost a year ago.
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Jones’ record in his second reign as head coach reads four wins and seven losses, which includes 40 plus point hammerings by New Zealand, France and England.
The Australian told reporters late Tuesday after returning from Japan’s tour of Europe that there was ‘no magical solution’ but said he was confident that his team would improve.
“They’re the sort of experiences this team needs,” Jones said of the tour, which ended with a 59-14 thrashing by his former team England at Twickenham on Sunday.
“I know you’re all sitting there thinking we got beat by 50 points but they’re games we need to actually learn [from].
“The big challenge now is how quickly we can learn,” he added.
The 64-year-old Jones, who’s first stint with Japan span between 2012-2015, has blooded a host of new players including a fullback who’s still at university.
Jones said his players’ inexperience had ‘shown up at crucial times in games’ but believes Japan can become ‘the best attacking team in the world’
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“There is a gap between where we are and where we need to be, and we just need to keep working,” said Jones.
“The only thing that’s going to get us there is hard work, persistence and then consistency in selection.”
Japan have signed partnership agreements with both Australia and New Zealand, meaning they will play regular Test matches against them over the years.
Jones returned to the Japan job six weeks after walking out on the Wallabies following a disastrous year-long stint in charge of the Wallabies.
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He had repeatedly denied reports he was set to take the Japan post for a second time.
Jones also came under renowned scrutiny in recent weeks for his time as England head coach, with former scrumhalf Danny Care calling him a ‘tyrant’ and a ‘despot’ in his autobiography.
Jones claims he was abused by a fan at half-time on Sunday’s game in his first return to Twickenham since being sacked in 2022.
He took England to the 2019 World Cup Final where they fell short to South Africa.
Go behind the scenes of both camps during the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa in 2021. Binge watch exclusively on RugbyPass TV now
What’s Jones’s % win in the last 5 years post RWC19? England, Australia, and Japan. I reckon that he’s probably below 60% at a guess. World class?
The way he acted when he was Aussie head coach made me lose all respect for him.
Hooper (their captain, and best player for the best part of a decade) had to call an assistant to find out that he had been dropped, Quade found out during the team announcement, his humiliating rants when he was asked reasonable questions by the media, then he repeatedly lied about knowing nothing about the Japan job.
Maybe Japan need to realise they are tier and stick to playing teams more in their zone such as Italy, Georgia, Pacific Nations, Wales etc. If you consistently play the top 8 in the world you may get better yes, but you won't win.