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Ellis Genge knows Japan boss Eddie Jones will be happy performing the role of pantomime villain when he plots England’s downfall at Allianz Stadium on Sunday.
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Jones is facing England at Twickenham for the first time since he was sacked in 2022 and the 64-year-old returns under a cloud because of claims made about his management style during his seven years in charge.
Danny Care, former red rose scrum-half, earlier this month described the environment he created as “toxic”, adding that his reign was like “living in a dictatorship”.
Jones was booed by crowds at last year’s World Cup when he was Australia boss and could be met with a similar reaction from England fans on Sunday, but Genge believes he will thrive on being cast as the the bad guy.
“I like the bloke. He was always… not always actually, he wasn’t always nice to me, but we’ve got a good relationship,” said Genge, who was given his international debut by Jones in 2016.
“He’s a master of the psychological part of player development and man management.
“Sometimes he gets it wrong. There have been some nightmare stories of late about him. But he’s a good bloke, man. He’s a good guy.
“I can’t imagine he’s going to get a cheer when he goes on camera, but he’ll love that part of it. He’ll relish it. It will all be part of the day for him.
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“He will probably have a few trick plays up his sleeve and knowing Eddie he will probably take the game very personally, which I love about him.
“He will have them fired up and you saw what he did with his Japan side in 2015 that beat South Africa in Brighton.
“He’s a brilliant coach and Japan are developing as a nation in terms of their rugby. They have improved so much. You have got to have your wits about you for sure.”
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England have lost to New Zealand, Australia and South Africa this autumn and are aiming to end a five-Test losing streak when they clash with the Brave Blossoms, who are positioned 13th in the global rankings.
“It’s 0 and 3 so in terms of appraisals it’s not a very good one, but we’ve seen progress as a team,” Genge said.
“Not necessarily in results, but definitely in trends and behaviours of how we’re operating as a squad.
“It’s been good for us – we’ve tested ourselves against the best in the world and we’ve run them all very, very close.
“Everyone can look us in the eyes and say we should probably have won a few of those games. But the bottom line is we haven’t won a game yet.
“It would be nice to finish on a win. That’s what you go out to do in every game. But it’s not going to eradicate previous results.”
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
"He's a good bloke, always nice to me, ok well not always, sometimes he was an absolute bastard and everyone hates him."
Pretty much my interpretation.