LONDON, 12 Oct - As he departs RWC 2015, comments from Japan coach Eddie Jones (AUS), in place of the usual Quotes of the Day.
"We’ve come to this World Cup to gain some respect for Japan. At the end of the tournament we want people to say that Japan is a respected rugby country."
- his opening gambit, before Japan's match against the mighty Springboks, and we all know how that turned out
"It was a very humbling experience. I had to look at the score at the end of the match to see if it was true or not."
- South Africa 32-34 Japan is now writ large in history
"We are not done. If we make the quarter-finals then I can retire. Sit back, enjoy and criticise and be like Clive Woodward and get a job on the television. That's my dream."
- Sir Clive had better watch it. Punditry could prove to be Jones's strongest suit
"People in Gloucester know their rugby, so hopefully we’ll get a lot of support from the local crowd. They normally wear red and white so they can wear red and white tomorrow to support us. We know the English don’t like the Scottish, so that’s another bonus for us."
- before the Scotland game, Jones puts his faith in flattery, colour coordinaton and inter-UK rivalries as he makes a pitch for the not-so-neutral supporter
"If you want a strong child make sure they get brought up on a dairy farm, deliver the papers every morning, drink 10 beers a night. You should do a documentary on longevity – milk, newspapers and beer."
- homespun wisdom, on his veteran Hitoshi Ono, who at the age of 37 won his 96th cap, against Samoa
"Before the tournament our target was to reach the quarter-finals and everyone thought that was a joke. Now we have put ourselves in a position to do that. If we do, we can win even more fans in Japan. Twenty million people watched the Scotland game. That's the population of Australia including all the kangaroos."
- wanting the last laugh
"He looks all right, mate. He might be in line for an academy award."
- on Japan's Akihito Yamada, who scored a try in the Samoa game and was knocked out
“We’ll have nothing to lose. If we do get there we won’t die wondering. We’ll give it a twirl."
- unbashed, when asked if his team could manage a quarter-final against Australia
"Let’s be honest, before this tournament Japan were one of the joke teams. Teams would put out their B team against them and win by 80-90 points."
- no hostage to fortune
“Maybe there were 30 million people in Japan watching this game. That’s the whole of the Australian population plus the kangaroos, and New Zealand and all the sheep. Now that’s not bad. Now out of that 30 million people there are kids that want to (emulate these heroes and play rugby). That’s what sport can do... There’s so many kids in England now that want to play soccer.”
- colourful again, describing how his team will inspire a new generation of players
"It feels a bit funny not getting up to get ready for next week's game. I had breakfast with my wife for the first time in how long. At least I still think she's my wife - I don't know if she still thinks I'm her husband."
- the morning after the night when Japan went out of RWC 2015
“I’ve coached long enough not to have any regrets. We all make mistakes, I’ve made mistakes coaching Japan the last four years. I’ve tried to learn from them but I don’t have any regrets.”
- on doing it his way
“It’s been great fun.”
- amen
RNS co/sw