England coach Eddie Jones apologises after calling Wales a 'little s*** place' in speech

England coach Eddie Jones. Photo / AP

England rugby coach Eddie Jones has had to apologise after video emerged of the Australian calling Wales a 'little s*** place' during a presentation on leadership.

Jones was a guest speaker at an event last year on the topic of leadership and was referencing playing Wales while he was coaching in Japan.

Jones coached in Japan for six years before taking on the England head coaching job following a brief stint with the Stormers.

"The gap between where Japan was and the Tier One countries was enormous," Jones said in the Fuso Talks presentaion.

"I took over and within three months the Japan under-20s team played the Wales under-20s team. So Wales, who knows Wales? Are there any Welsh people here?

"It's this little s**t place that has got three million people - Japan has got how many? 125 million," Jones said.

"Japan under-20s players play rugby from the age of 15 and they virtually train every single day, they don't study. If you ever meet a rugby player, you'll know they're a rugby player in Japan because they're not very well educated.

"Then they go to university for four years and they don't study, they just play rugby full time. You've got these under-20s players from a country of 126 million, who are basically full time professional from the age of 15, playing against a Welsh side who are amateurs.

Warning: Video includes offensive language

"So Wales beat Japan 125-0. So I thought 'this is a great job I've got'."

Jones also referred to Ireland as "the scummy Irish" is the same speech.

Ahead of the final round of Six Nations games, where England host Ireland on Sunday, Jones issued a statement of apology, saying: "I apologise unreservedly for any offence caused - no excuses and I shouldn't have said what I did. I'm very sorry."