24 May 2023 , 17:06
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Eddie Jones insists England are now just another opponent and he feels no emotional attachment to a side he gave seven years of his life to.
The Australian, who came within 80 minutes of winning the last World Cup, is back at Twickenham for the first time since leaving in a taxi after being sacked mid-contract in December.
On Sunday he coaches the Barbarians invitation team against a World XV before returning Down Under to his new job as boss of the Wallabies, prospective World Cup quarter-final opponents of, yes, England.
Given the abrupt nature of his departure, in the wake of England’s awful autumn campaign, Jones might be expected to harbour bitterness.
But he said: “I have no regrets at how it ended. I had a great seven years here and I don’t hold any grudges against anyone.
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"Things very rarely end well. How many marriages end well? Coaching with national teams is like a marriage, very few get out of it in a good situation.
Jones: “I have no regrets at how it ended and I don’t hold any grudges against anyone" (Getty Images for Barbarians)“But I have moved on. If they (the Rugby Football Union) have not, that’s their problem, not my problem.”
Jones, 63, was shown the door by RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney after a review concluded “results consistently were less than expected” in the previous 12 months.
He took it on the chin and, as quickly as he was snapped up by Australia, switched his emotional connection from England to what he calls the “smash and grab project” of trying to build a World Cup-winning team inside half a year for the country of his birth.
Jones: "We’ve got enough time to get the (Australia) team right, I wouldn't have taken the job otherwise” (PA)As he basked in London sunshine yesterday Jones was asked what he thought when watching England under his replacement Steve Borthwick.
“I don’t watch England," shot back his reply.
“I watched all the Six Nations games but they are just one of the teams. I love the team I'm coaching but when I move I don't have any regrets, any bad feelings.
“I want that team to do OK, but there's no emotional attachment to that team any more.”
Jones looks on as England are blown away by South Africa in 2019 World Cup final (Getty Images)Jones added: “Rugby is more than a job to me, it’s my life. So when someone tells you they don’t want you to coach a team, okay, that’s alright.
“But I still want to coach. So then you want to coach a team you can make a difference to. We’ve got enough time to get the (Australia) team right, we have got enough time to change how the players think. I wouldn't have taken the job otherwise."
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That is the RFU’s worst nightmare, given their failure to insert a clause in his severance deal preventing him from coaching a rival nation until after the World Cup.
For now, though, Jones is back in their house. He has even been given the home changing room on Sunday. And he can’t wait.