Eddie Jones has broken his silence after being handed a six-week ban and fine by the Japan Rugby Football Union for verbally abusing a match official during an U23s tour of Australia in April. The former England coach joked he would try to emulate Jose Mourinho's infamous laundry basket stunt to circumvent the suspension, but quickly clarified he was only kidding.
Jones Apologises for Disrespecting the Game
Speaking for the first time since the ban was imposed, Jones expressed contrition. "I'd like to apologise for disrespecting the game of rugby," he said. "I made a comment on the Australia tour because I felt my team was being unfairly treated. I will serve the game with greater respect in the future."
The 66-year-old admitted he made a single comment to the referee at half-time and apologised immediately after the match. He felt his young side was not being treated fairly by the official. "Like any game there's decisions made, I felt the referee wasn't treating us fairly, I made a comment at half-time, I apologised immediately afterwards," he added.
Ban Details and Impact
The JRFU stood Jones down for six weeks due to the "seriousness of the matter", also docking his salary. He is banned from having any involvement in Japan's next four matches, including fixtures against a Hong Kong China Select side, the Maori All Blacks, and their first Nations Championship match against Italy. Jones will miss those games but has already begun preparing the squad for Italy.
Community Work During Suspension
Jones revealed that because the ban covers domestic club games, he was abroad doing community work during the Japan Rugby League One final. "I couldn't go to the League One final so I went to Singapore and did community work," he said. "I love the game of rugby so I kept working. It hasn't affected the Italy game. On 19 June we start when the players come in. I've still done the preparation work."
Jones is now focused on leading Japan forward, insisting he has moved on from the incident and is solely concerned with preparing the team for their upcoming matches.
