Eddie’s accent on Japan

EDDIE JONES has his England staff turning Japanese ahead of next year’s Rugby World Cup.

Jones names his autumn training squad on Thursday week, which marks a year to the start of the tournament he was hired to win.

But his thoughts are already in Japan and his famous attention to detail has led him to send his staff to language school.

“Everything we do now is about preparing for the World Cup,” said Jones.

“All of the staff had Japanese lessons on Tuesday and we’ve got another in a couple of weeks.”

This is no gimmick. Jones coached Japan, his wife Hiroko is Japanese, his mother half-japanese. He knows the benefits of being able to speak the lingo.

Rough

“When I was there I did all the training sessions in Japanese and maybe 60 per cent of team meetings,” he said. “It was very rough – a bit like my English!

“My wife doesn’t even let me speak to my dog in Japanese because she says I speak such bad Japanese.

“But come next year it is the staff’s responsibility to create a positive atmosphere because the players are going to be stressed.

“They’re going to find heat stress, cultural stress.

“It’s our job to minimise that as much as possible and learning a few words of the language will help.

“We are aware of the heat and possibility of typhoons – we’ll be ready for all eventualities.”

Jones could be without Brad Shields for England’s autumn internationals after he suffered a broken cheekbone on his Wasps debut.

The forward, who made his Red Rose debut against South Africa in June, will see a specialist tomorrow to decide if he needs surgery.