Eddie Jones on Roy Keane: 'He's one of the funniest blokes I've ever met'

The England rugby boss has admitted that he would love to have the Corkman in to speak to his squad for a second time

Eddie Jones and Roy Keane

Roy Keane's burgeoning reputation as a man of levity as well as substance has been burnished by England rugby boss Eddie Jones.

The Manchester United and Ireland legend, who is a keen rugby fan, gave a talk about his Champions League experiences to Jones’ England side prior to the 2019 Rugby World Cup and followed it up that day with a long lunch with the coaching staff.

Keane’s reputation as a hard taskmaster was earned over two decades and more, first as a player and then as a manager, but he has revealed a gift for a lighter touch with his delivery in his time as a pundit on English TV and Jones saw plenty of that.

“Well, he’s one of the funniest blokes I’ve ever met,” the Australian said at Wednesday’s official Six Nations launch. “He’s inspirational but his stories are incredible, mate. I remember our coaching staff spent about an hour with him and he had us just laughing and laughing and laughing.

“Then he spoke to the players and he was equally as funny. He was certainly one of the most memorable guys we have had in, obviously a very good player and a tough guy in terms of the way he played the game. A great raconteur of football stories so we would be happy to get him in again.”

Roy Keane talks with All Blacks coach Graham Henry during a New Zealand All Blacks training session at Rugby League Park on June 3, 2008 in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo by Ross Land/Getty Images)

England face Ireland on the second last weekend in Twickenham in a game that could play a major role in deciding the destination of Triple Crown, Championship and maybe even Grand Slam honours.

The last meeting was a comprehensive win for Ireland in Dublin last March but Jones is concentrating on the immediate task in hand which, for him, is their tournament opener in Murrayfield in two weekends’ time.

“Sorry to disappoint you mate but I’m not too worried about Ireland at this stage,” he said. “The only game we are worried about at the moment is Scotland.

“I obviously watched (Ireland’s) games and our coaching staff watched their games in the Autumn and we’re pleased they’re doing well.

“Andy Farrell is a good mate of mine and I’m glad he’s doing so well we will just make sure that he isn’t doing so well against us.”