Eddie Jones returns to Twickenham on Sunday for the first time since he was sacked as England head coach in December; the Australia head coach leads the Barbarians for their match against a World XV; England and the Wallabies could meet in this year's Rugby World Cup quarter-finals
Wednesday 24 May 2023 16:18, UK
Eddie Jones says there are no hard feelings as he prepares to coach a team at Twickenham for the first time since his departure as England head coach.
The 63-year-old's seven-year reign came to an end last December, just 10 months before the 2023 Rugby World Cup, following a mixed Autumn Nations Series in which England lost to Argentina and South Africa, along with drawing with New Zealand and beating Japan.
Jones has since returned to his homeland for a second stint as Australia head coach but finds himself back on these shores to oversee the Barbarians for their match against a World XV on Sunday and insists he bears no grudges over the RFU's decision to sack him.
"Zero, mate - zero," Jones told Sky Sports News. "I had a great seven years and at the end of the day they decided I wasn't the man for the job.
"At the time I didn't agree with it, and I probably still don't, but that really doesn't matter.
"It's an easy transition, we've moved on pretty quickly and it's great to be back in England. I had seven great years here and always loved playing at Twickenham, so I'm looking forward to Sunday's game."
Jones was succeeded by Steve Borthwick, who served as forwards coach under the Australian for both Japan and England before taking over as Leicester Tigers head coach and guiding the Gallagher Premiership side to an 11th English league title in 2022.
Borthwick's first Six Nations campaign saw the national team finish fourth and the former England second row expressed his concerns over the strength of the squad he inherited, but Jones shrugged that off.
"Every coach says that don't they?" Jones, who guided England to the 2019 World Cup final and finished his tenure with a win rate of 73 percent said. "'They're unfit', 'they're average', 'I'm going to be the messiah' - and Steve's just talking like a coach normally talks.
"You just look at the record we had - it stands in good stead. It tailed off a little bit towards the end, but sometimes that happens. We left a fairly good record here."
Jones is no longer in contact with Borthwick - "he made a decision on that, so that's the way it is," Jones said - and there is the realistic prospect old rivals England and Australia could meet in the quarter-finals of this year's World Cup.
However, Jones' focus is firmly on Sunday's match and two players who are likely to be involved for the Wallabies at the global gathering in France later this year are set to start for his Ba-Baas team in inside centre Samu Kerevi and fly-half Quade Cooper.
At 35, Cooper is still an integral figure for Australia and Jones is delighted with the evolution of a player he first encountered as a youngster at Queensland Reds in 2007.
"I coached him as a young guy out of high school and he was indulgent on and off the field," Jones said. "Now he's like a serious, mature, hard-working professional and I've never seen a guy change so much as Quade.
"The latter part of the attraction of coaching the Barbarians is I get to coach a couple of our players before we get into camp."
