HE has been accused of having a chip on his shoulder by the chippiest nation on God’s Earth.
He has been accused of tainting his own legacy by citizens of a convict colony with little idea of history.
And he has been caricatured as a clown in the Aussie press — in a country which struggles with any more sophisticated ideas of humour than red noses and over-sized shoes.
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He is one of our own now, Eddie Jones. A fair-dinkum fully-fledged Pom.
It is not just that England’s Australian coach has transformed the rugby fortunes of his adopted nation as he bids to complete a perfect year of 13 wins from 13 games against his native country today.
It is also that he has fully embraced the sporting rivalry between the mother country and the far-flung descendants of its Victorian criminals.
A rivalry which has made Gods of men such as Jonny Wilkinson and Martin Johnson, Ian Botham and Freddie Flintoff.
In fact, Jones even invoked the spirit of that great Australian hate figure Douglas Jardine — England’s cricket captain who unleashed Bodyline on Don Bradman & Co — before a summer tour Down Under which ended with a glorious 3-0 whitewash.
Jim Laker, who once took 19 wickets in an Ashes Test, summed it up succinctly by saying: “The aim of English cricket is, in fact, mainly to beat Australia.”
And while English rugby does not have quite such a totalitarian approach, 56-year-old Jones has added a welcome pinch of gunpowder to an explosive rivalry.
Jones was the Aussie coach sunk by Wilkinson’s drop goal in that 2003 World Cup final in Sydney. But having defied the odds to inspire those unfancied Wallabies to the final, he was sacked two years later.
The Aussies are convinced that the ‘chip on the shoulder’ mentioned by his former team-mate and current rival coach Michael Cheika was inflicted by that sacking.
Jones has been enjoying playing the role of honorary Pom this week.
At Twickenham yesterday he goaded Cheika for his lack of manners.
He claimed Cheika, who was subdued during the summer series, is smarting from that mauling and seems to have “bought a machine gun between then and now”.
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“Defeat always hurts and there will be someone hurting tomorrow,” he said. “You have to carry that defeat and make sure we keep the game in its proper state.
“The great games of the world — golf, tennis and rugby — they stand alone because they have a standard of behaviour.” It was a line snooty Jardine would have been proud of. Those uncouth shackle-draggers and their lack of etiquette.
The Aussies, who dumped England out of the World Cup on their previous visit here last autumn, have seen the tables turned since.
Jones said: “This is their last chance of redemption because they’ve had a tough year and if they win this Test they can go home happy.
“If we win this Test then we create history.”
Jones refused to get drawn into talk of his nationality yesterday, simply saying: “I love my country but I’m coaching England, so it’s all about coaching England.”
But Jones is now the darling of the English coaching world. Gareth Southgate was due to meet him on Thursday but had to cancel because of his FA unveiling.
Jones earns only around one fifth of Southgate’s £1.8million salary but he could teach his footballing counterpart a thing or two about revitalising a group of talented players who looked terrified at a major tournament.
Jones, who masterminded Japan’s World Cup victory over South Africa last year, made some ballsy decisions early in his England reign — not least handing the captaincy to bad-boy Dylan Hartley.
But he ignored the temptation to make sweeping changes and, as the best coaches do, he has simply made his players better.
According to The Australian, Jones is “a menacing clown with a dark side, terrorising poor Cheika as if he were part of the creepy clown craze that has swept the world.”
Apparently his media conferences are “like a dark carnival where he dissects victims with the sharpest of tongues.”
It did not seem that way yesterday, though. Jones seemed like a damned fine coach looking forward to getting business done as England chase a record-equalling 14th straight victory.
The Red Rose seems to suit him rather better than the red nose.
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