Eddie Jones

World Cup finalist coach, England's longest serving head coach, and the sharpest rugby mind of his generation

Rugby

The story

Eddie Jones does not coach rugby the way other people coach rugby. He is faster, funnier, angrier, and considerably less patient with anyone who cannot keep up.

Born in Tasmania in 1960 to a Japanese-Australian mother and an Australian father, Jones played as a hooker for Randwick before moving into coaching with the Brumbies and then the Wallabies, whom he took to the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final. He later helped South Africa win the 2007 World Cup as a consultant, and in 2015 he engineered the greatest upset in the history of the tournament when his Japan side beat the Springboks in Brighton.

Appointed England head coach weeks later, he delivered a Grand Slam in his first Six Nations and took the team to the 2019 World Cup Final, beating New Zealand along the way in a semi-final that remains one of the great tactical performances at international level. His seven year tenure was the longest of any England head coach. He returned to Japan in 2024 for a second spell in charge.

Jones is famously direct in press conferences and famously warm in private. He has mentored coaches across four continents, written sharp and readable books on leadership, and built a reputation as one of the most incisive tactical thinkers in world sport. He is also a regular newspaper columnist whose opinions are rarely boring and almost never diplomatic.

At Steam Wine Bar Jones brings a masterclass in high performance leadership, delivered with the dry Australian wit that has made him one of the most quoted figures in international rugby.

Career highlights

  • Head coach, Australia at 2003 Rugby World Cup Final
  • Head coach, England at 2019 Rugby World Cup Final
  • Coached Japan to historic victory over South Africa at 2015 World Cup
  • Six Nations Grand Slam with England, 2016
  • Longest serving England head coach, 2016 to 2022
  • Consultant to South Africa's 2007 World Cup winning squad

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