The Profile
The rugby career behind the headlines.
Eddie Jones took England to a World Cup final in 2019. That is the headline achievement, and it is a significant one, because it came off the back of a team that had been humiliated at their home World Cup four years earlier. The turnaround was fast, disciplined, and almost entirely his.
Before England, he had been the architect of the Japan side that beat South Africa in 2015, probably the most famous upset in rugby history. Before that, he had taken Australia to a World Cup final, coached Saracens, coached the Queensland Reds, consulted for South Africa on their 2007 winning campaign. His CV is longer than most international coaches' entire careers.
He is also one of the most quotable people in any sport. His press conferences became events in themselves during the later years of his England tenure. He would produce theories about tackle technique, the English class system, and the nutritional value of Japanese rice, sometimes in the same answer. He did not always get everything right. He rarely failed to be interesting.
Since returning to coach Japan in 2024, he has been relatively quieter, which by his standards is still louder than most. His speaker engagements at Steam have been some of the most intellectually demanding the room has sat through, in the best possible way.
“Rugby is a coaches' sport for thirty seconds a week. The other ninety nine per cent of the time it belongs to the players and you need to remember that.”
Career highlights
- Runner up, Rugby World Cup 2019 with England
- Japan coach, 2012 to 2015 and 2024 to present
- 2015 Japan v South Africa upset win, considered the greatest RWC upset
- Australia Rugby World Cup runner-up, 2003
- Saracens director of rugby, 2009 to 2011
- Six Nations Grand Slam with England, 2016
First hand
Eddie Jones at Steam
Eddie spoke at Steam in February 2025. He arrived with a whiteboard marker and drew on one of our menus to explain a tactical point during dinner.