Mick Cleary: Is there still a bit of devil in the Jones detail? 

“One day a devil, mate,” Eddie Jone's said. “The next day an angel." 

Eddie Jones, Head Coach of Australia, during the warm-up prior to the Rugby World Cup France 2023 match between Australia and Georgia at Stade de France on September 09, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)

EN route to Eddie Jones’ unveiling conference at Twickenham in late 2015 my mobile phone rang. It was a long-serving Aussie journo pal. “You know it’ll end in tears, don’t you?” The old grizzler wasn’t wrong even if you had cause to doubt his prognosis when England rattled up a record 17 consecutive wins, nailing a Grand Slam and a first-ever series whitewash in Jones’ native Australia to boot.

It was at that opening presser that another little nugget surfaced. The Q&A was winding down when a Japanese TV reporter piped up from the back of the room. “Mr Jones San. Some Japanese players say you are the devil. What do you say?"