Eddie Jones: England fans still thank me for what I did – it makes me emotional

Résumé détaillé

From crying in a Cape Town hotel room to chopping up kiwi fruit before beating New Zealand, the former England head coach lifts the lid on the extraordinary highs and lows of a coaching career spanning four decades

My Sporting Life is The i Paper’s look behind the curtain at what drives sports stars to greatness. Eddie Jones was the first foreigner to coach the England rugby union team, from 2016 to 2022, winning three Six Nations and losing the 2019 World Cup final to South Africa. He is now back in charge of Japan, having also coached his native Australia. He started out as a teacher and a rugby player in the amateur era. With a reputation as a tough workaholic, here he reflects on the ups and downs of a 45-year career.

If I had the experience I have now, I would have been much more moderated; more patient and listening more. When you’re young, you just want to get your knowledge out there and show how clever you are.

Applying it to the right context is the wisdom you gain. I had the beauty of meeting Alex Ferguson a few times, and I just read his new book, and you hear this from him, and it’s wise. I still work hard, but I am more cognisant of not expecting everyone else to do the same.

I was lucky enough when I was coaching England to go to the Wimbledon Royal Box, and I sat next to Sachin Tendulkar. To sit next to one of the greats of the game was just extraordinary. He was hoping I wouldn’t keep on asking questions about cricket!

Because there are two things I’ve missed out on: I always wanted to be a cricket coach, and I always wanted to be a rugby league coach. When I was growing up, they were the two loves I had. And rugby [union] came after that, and it gave me a pathway to coaching that meant I had to stop playing cricket.

I think I would have… you know, trying to be humble… I would have made an okay cricket coach. I would have loved the challenge of putting together a cricket team. What [Brendon] McCullum did with England, that was absolutely bold, and for a time it was brilliant. It didn’t end up as he would have liked, but his courage and his ambition to try to get an English side to play like that was a fantastic coaching job.

My wife loves England – she never wanted…

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