Eddie Jones aims to make Japan a top-4 side, find rugby’s Shohei Ohtani
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Japan rugby coach Eddie Jones will take on his former England side in his first match in charge of the Brave Blossoms.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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TOKYO – Japan’s new national rugby team coach Eddie Jones said on March 13 he is aiming to make his side one of the best four teams in the world, and unearth global sporting talent in the mould of Japanese star baseball player Shohei Ohtani.
The Australian takes over Japan for a second spell after a calamitous, short-lived stint with the Wallabies and a seven-year run with England that took them to a World Cup final in 2019 but also ended in acrimony after a poor run.
His first game back in charge of the Brave Blossoms, currently ranked 12th, is against his old side, fifth-ranked England on June 22 in Tokyo.
“There’s no reason why we can’t jump into the top four,” Jones said in the Japanese capital. “We need to create a new style of play that is adventurous, that suits Japanese instincts, that is attacking.”
The 64-year-old also spoke about attracting talented players to the team.
“It’s about how we can make young players be really ambitious in wanting to be the best player they can and create the next rugby Ohtani,” he added, referring to the dual-threat Major League Baseball player, a national hero in Japan.
On his 10-month tenure with Australia, which resulted in just two wins in nine matches and the nation’s earliest-ever departure from a World Cup in 2023, Jones insisted he had left the team “in a better place”.
“Don’t have any regrets. I tried to do my best in a short period of time. And what I think I’ve left Australia is a young squad that’s capable of doing well,” he said.
“Sometimes you got to leave things in a better place and maybe you take responsibility for the failure, which is okay.”
Looking ahead to the immediate future, his focus is now on how to tackle England.
“The only disappointment is we’re kicking off at three o’clock – I wanted to kick off at the hottest part of the day, which is two o’clock,” he said. “Unfortunately we can’t... But we’re still going to have to make it hot for them.”
Jones pointed out that Marcus Smith’s “best time is to come”, following the English fly-half’s Twickenham heroics last weekend. The 25-year-old’s last-ditch drop goal on March 9 saw England end Six Nations champions Ireland’s hopes of successive Grand Slams.
Smith has yet to cement his place as England’s regular fly-half since making his debut under Jones in July 2021 and has been criticised for a perceived lack of consistency.
“Look at most American quarterbacks now – they can play until they’re 40,” Jones said.
“We’re seeing the same thing in rugby. Marcus Smith’s best time is to come.” REUTERS, AFP
