Rugby: Eddie Jones courts controversy with coaching trip to Japan

Eddie Jones previously led Suntory Sungoliath to the Top League title as head coach (pictured in 2012) Photo / Getty

England head coach Eddie Jones has once again courted controversy by jetting to Japan to coach Suntory Sungoliath, offering advice to rival players just two weeks after another woeful Six Nations campaign.

For a second successive Championship, Jones led England to just two wins but has received the full backing from the Rugby Football Union which said it was "encouraged by solid progress" following defeats to Scotland, Ireland and France.

While the RFU has previously described his role as a "consultant", Suntory and former Counties-Manukau coach Milton Haig described Jones as the director of rugby at the Japanese League One club.

With several leading English players preparing to compete in the Champions Cup last 16, Jones has been coaching All Blacks playmaker Damian McKenzie and Australia centre Samu Kerevi, who is likely to face England this summer in a three-Test series.

Last year Jones came under fire from figures including Sir Clive Woodward for heading to Suntory to coach New Zealand star Beauden Barrett, who said his advice was like "little pieces of gold", following England's fifth-place finish in the Six Nations. Jones robustly defended his involvement, insisting that he needs to practise coaching; despite not paying visits to any Premiership clubs that season.

Officially this is classed as holiday time by the RFU for Jones, who is the highest-paid coach in world rugby, and former Georgia head coach Haig suggested he is relishing escaping what he called the "goldfish bowl" of English rugby.

"He is over here at the moment helping us out," Haig said. "He is hard at work to be honest. He's not having a holiday here, that's for sure. He's running a few drills for us around our breakdowns and doing a lot of talking to the young players. He is taking two sessions today with the younger guys.

"I think he enjoys coming back. His wife is obviously from Japan and I think he just likes coming back and relaxing and getting out of that goldfish bowl and giving back to the game. Ultimately, that's what he is doing.

"He is not doing it because he wants money or praise, he is doing it because he has a long affiliation with the club and he wants to see the club progress and see the young players progress. I think he gets a kick out of just helping out really and having no expectations. That's probably a bit of rest for him in itself."

Even when Jones is based in England, Haig will send him footage and stats to review from Suntory matches. RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney recently claimed that Jones' role at Suntory was signed off by his predecessors when he was appointed England head coach in 2016, although the confusion about his job description suggests there may be crossed wires somewhere.

With Sweeney also giving Jones his unconditional backing, there is no prospect that he will be asked to rein in his extracurricular activities with Suntory and others, even though England have been drawn in the same World Cup pool as Japan.

Haig was also quick to defend Jones' involvement, dismissing last year's controversy.

"I saw the kerfuffle that went on in the press over there – they probably won't like it he's talking to Samu Kerevi and Damian McKenzie at the moment. It's a storm in a teacup – he's just a rugby man and is really keen to talk to rugby people and see what he can learn off them.

"He has come in, like Eddie always does, as a ball of energy. His first question is what can I do to help. Those were his first words to me. I think as I said earlier it's probably a chance for him to get out of the goldfish bowl and relax and give something back to a club he's had a long affiliation for."

A review of England's performance in the Six Nations is still ongoing, although it was largely pre-empted by Sweeney's unequivocal support for Jones.

An RFU spokesperson said: "Eddie has had a relationship with Suntory for more than two decades, he uses his holidays to keep improving his coaching and global rugby knowledge. While on holiday Eddie has also been holding virtual staff meetings and providing detailed feedback on strategy and opposition."