The Japan Times - Spiky, polarising, rarely dull: ups and downs of rugby's Eddie Jones

The Japan Rugby Football Union suspended their head coach for four games on Wednesday for "verbal abuse directed at local officials" during a recent Australia tour.

They also relieved the 66-year-old Australian from all duties for six weeks and cut his pay.

It is the latest incident in Jones's colourful and controversial career, which has seen him butt heads with officials, players, opponents and authorities the world over, while scoring some remarkable successes.

"He's a master of the psychological part of player development and man-management," England's Ellis Genge said of his former coach in 2024.

"Sometimes he gets it wrong. There have been some nightmare stories of late about him. But he's a good bloke. He's a good guy," he said.

Jones's latest punishment stems from Japan's Under-23 tour of Australia in early April.

Reports say Jones repeatedly harangued referees from pitchside, drawing an official complaint from Rugby Australia.

- 'Inappropriate remarks' -

Jones accepted the JRFU's punishment in a statement, acknowledging that "inappropriate remarks that I made caused discomfort to local match officials and other related parties".

"I would like to offer my sincere apologies to everyone involved," he said.

"I deeply regret my behaviour and words and will make every effort to ensure that this doesn't happen again."

Jones's run-ins with authority and the media stretch back for almost as long as he has been in the game.

He was fined AUS$10,000 (US$7,800) in 2007 for calling a referee's performance "ludicrous" and "disgraceful" while in charge of Super Rugby side Queensland Reds.

The Tasmania-born coach is known as a hard taskmaster and his approach divided opinion during seven years in charge of England from 2015 to 2022.

In 2016, Jones guided England to a first Six Nations Grand Slam for 13 years and a 3-0 Test series sweep in Australia on the way to a perfect 13 wins that year.

He also oversaw England's 2019 World Cup semi-final upset of New Zealand before losing in the final to South Africa.

But his methods were slammed by former scrum-half Danny Care in his 2024 autobiography, claiming Jones oversaw a "toxic" environment and acted like a "tyrant" and a "despot".

- 'Give yourself uppercuts' -

He also took his native Australia to a home World Cup final in 2003, losing a thriller to Jonny Wilkinson's extra-time drop goal.

And he was a technical adviser when South Africa lifted the trophy in 2007.

When Jones returned to coach the Wallabies in 2023 it heralded a disastrous 10-month spell that ended when the Wallabies failed to get out of the World Cup pool stage for the first time.

The feisty coach repeatedly clashed with reporters, telling them to "go give yourselves uppercuts" when they questioned his selection of an inexperienced squad.

He returned to Japan, having masterminded the country's groundbreaking win over South Africa at the 2015 World Cup -- a feat immortalised in the 2019 movie "The Brighton Miracle".

Age has hardly mellowed him, and last month he launched a tirade against World Rugby for making Japan play a home Nations Championship game against Ireland in Australia.

"Ireland have all the power at World Rugby, so we have to play our home game, which should be in Tokyo, in Australia to make sure Ireland don't have to travel too much," he said on the Rugby Unity podcast.

"We just have to suck it up."

Jones will now miss Japan's Nations Championship opener against Italy in Tokyo on July 4.

He will also be unavailable for two Japan select team games against Hong Kong and a Japan XV fixture against the Maori All Blacks.

Jones has had mixed results back in charge with Japan, drawing a home Test series with Wales last year but also suffering heavy defeats to South Africa and Ireland.

He survived a performance review at the end of 2025, with JRFU chairman Kensuke Iwabuchi saying Jones would remain in charge for next year's World Cup.

"There were various discussions but there was a lot of praise for the way the team had grown and matured from 2024 into 2025," said Iwabuchi.

T.Sasaki--JT