Eddie Jones mentioned Thursday that he didn’t “feel any guilt at all” about changing into Japan’s head coach, six weeks after he walked out on the Wallabies.
Jones give up his native Australia after main them to a dismal displaying on the Rugby World Cup, and repeatedly denied studies that he was set to take over in Japan.
Australian media had reported that the 63-year-old had interviewed for the job in the course of the Wallabies’ World Cup marketing campaign in France.
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Jones’s appointment on Wednesday sparked a livid response within the Southern Hemisphere, with All Blacks nice Sonny Bill Williams branding the coach “a disgrace”.
Jones mentioned he didn’t remorse his actions, telling reporters “it sits well with me”.
“I wish Australia all the best,” he advised a packed press convention in Tokyo. “I feel terrible about the results, because I wanted to go back and change Australia.
“But I don’t feel any guilt at all about this process.”
Jones repeated his declare that he had not interviewed for the Japan job till December, regardless that functions for the position closed on August 18.
He mentioned his on-line assembly with a recruitment firm shortly earlier than the World Cup was to “share my experiences of Japan”.
“I didn’t do an interview before the World Cup,” Jones mentioned.
“I was asked by the recruitment agency to share my experiences with them on Japan. Some people might have construed that as an interview. It certainly wasn’t an interview. The first interview I had with Japan was in December. That’s the only interview I’ve had.
“Apologise to Australian fans? Yep. Mate, I gave everything I could for that short period of time and it wasn’t good enough. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I can’t change their opinion.
“I feel terrible about the results of Australia because I wanted to go back and change Australia. I feel terrible but I don’t feel any guilt at all about this process and I know you’ve been banging the drum fairly strongly on it. But I hadn’t had an interview.”
Jones mentioned “everyone is entitled to their own opinion” however he didn’t really feel the necessity to apologise to Australian followers for the method.
“The only thing I can control is what I did, and it sits well with me – I don’t have a problem with it,” he mentioned.
“If people feel like that, that’s their judgement. I can’t control that.”
Jones give up the Wallabies after two wins from 9 Tests since taking on in January, together with a worst-ever World Cup efficiency the place they did not make it out of the pool part.
His insistence on fast-tracking rookies on the expense of veterans badly backfired in high-pressure video games, as did a revolving door of unproven captains.
Jones will formally start his second stint in command of Japan on January 1. He beforehand coached them for 3 years from 2012 and led them to their historic win over South Africa on the 2015 World Cup.
Jones mentioned his goal was to show Japan right into a crew “that has a real identity”. “Any great team in any sport, it doesn’t matter what shirt they play in, you can see clearly the team that they are,” he mentioned.
“I think we need to develop that with Japan, so that’s going to be one of the major focuses going forward.” Under Jones, Japan shocked South Africa 34-32 in a match that grew to become often called the “Miracle of Brighton”.
That was solely Japan’s second win at a World Cup, and so they additionally went on to beat Samoa and the USA that yr earlier than exiting on the pool stage.
They reached the quarter-finals on dwelling soil in 2019 beneath Jones’s successor Jamie Joseph, however exited on the group stage at this yr’s match in France.
Jones focused a return to the World Cup knock-out spherical in 2027 and mentioned Japan “need to play the game faster than the opposition”.
He additionally mentioned South Africa’s diminutive World Cup-winning winger Cheslin Kolbe, now enjoying in Japan for Tokyo Sungoliath, could possibly be an inspiration for his gamers.
“He’s as strong as an ox, he’s as fast as a cheetah, and he’s as elusive as a ninja — that’s how Japanese players can be,” Jones mentioned.
“He’s a fantastic example, so what we want to find is players who can be like him, and they’re out there.”
Source web site: www.foxsports.com.au
