Eddie Jones named as Japan coach: When he’ll face the All Blacks again

Eddie Jones will begin a new stint as Japan coach, having filled the role from 2012-15. Photo / Photosport

Eddie Jones may no longer be the Wallabies coach but it won’t be too long until the All Blacks meet him again, with new his post as the head coach of Japan confirmed overnight.

The latest deal will see him through to the 2027 Rugby World Cup. The All Blacks will face the Brave Blossoms on October 26 next year ahead of the side’s first Northern Tour under new coach Scott Robertson.

During his latest stint as Wallabies coach, Australia lost their two clashes against the All Blacks this season - All Blacks 38 Wallabies 7 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground followed by All Blacks 23 Wallabies 20 in Dunedin. Jones was the last Wallabies coach to hold the Bledisloe Cup, in charge of the team which handed it over in 2003.

The 63-year-old Jones quit as Australia coach on October 29 after his native country’s woeful World Cup campaign in France, during which he denied holding talks with the Japanese Rugby Football Union.

Jones, whose mother is Japanese, will start his new role on January 1 on a four-year deal, returning to a position he had from 2012-15, which culminated in him leading the Brave Blossoms to one of the biggest upsets in rugby — and any sport — when they beat South Africa at the 2015 World Cup.

After leaving that job following the 2015 tournament, he coached England for seven years — leading the team to the 2019 World Cup final — before spending less than a year in a second spell with the Wallabies.

Jamie Joseph departed as Japan coach after the recent World Cup, where the team was eliminated in the pool stage.

Jones, one of the most colourful characters in rugby, will look to rebuild his reputation — and prove he can still cut it at the top of the sport — after Australia’s worst-ever World Cup, where the team failed to reach the knockout stage for the first time.

He also endured a tough end to his time with England, where his man-management skills and tactics came under scrutiny and the team won just five of its 12 test matches in 2022 before he was fired.

- With AP