It was with not inconsiderable disappointment that news came through on Friday afternoon that illness had laid Eddie Jones low and the Japan head coach would be unable to conduct a planned press conference. As is often the case with the truculent Australian, it has been impossible to escape his name in the build-up to this weekend’s clash between his employers new and old; talk of the Eddie era seeming to bounce out of the whispering walls and ornate corners of the Pennyhill Park training base he used to patrol.
Indeed, after his enforced withdrawal, it feels like the only person yet to pass comment on Jones’s eccentricities and efficacy is the man himself – a relative rarity for someone who takes great pleasure in nailing the narrative. There was a degree of dodging from the Japan Rugby Football Union this week, with a virtual press conference all that was offered with their head coach even before his illness. The music will be faced on Sunday for certain: “He’ll be [at Twickenham] with bells on,” assistant Neal Hatley promised.
