Eddie Jones could start an argument in a phone box or charm an audience of thousands.
The departed England head coach will be remembered as a combative contradiction: one minute all bile and venom, the next a glinting-eyed co-conspirator.
The wily Australian has always known how to put the bite into a soundbite, regularly baring his teeth to fellow coaches, players and the media.
His relentless management style meant colleagues fielding calls at four o’clock in the morning with Jones at best nonplussed by a groggy response.
That punishing regime led to England going through 18 assistant coaches in his seven-year tenure. An unprecedented turnover that Jones defended as a launch pad for those assistant’s head-coaching ambitions, the churn rate also raised concerns over general burnout.
Jones was just as ready to savage a question in a press conference as call out fans in stadiums for abusing him. Screaming “come here and say that” when branded a “traitor” by Australia supporters on the summer’s Wallabies tour encapsulates Jones’ front-foot approach.
The 62-year-old kept his players on their toes in an unforgiving Test environment, an approach that spurred on many but also failed to get the best out of a clutch of promising stars.
For the bulk of his reign however, all those contradictions and mixed messages came together to whip England into a team drilled in his image.
Jones’ England were always at their best as unapologetic agitators, controlling their fury into a bullish, tub-thumping power game.
All this fell away in the final months of Jones’ regime however, as focus slipped just too far to the World Cup. Emphasis on expanding the attack saw England lose control of their tight game.
England’s players praised a newly relaxed Test camp, enjoying the set-up more than ever before. As the tension eased up however, perhaps Jones’ vital edge softened just too much.
Maybe only Jones could be sacked with a win record of 73 per cent having pushed England to the edge of World Cup glory in 2019. A character of conflict to very the end.
