Eddie Jones will revel in winding up England - Genge / Photo: © AFP
Eddie Jones will revel in winding up England - Genge
Ellis Genge believes Eddie Jones will relish being cast in the role of pantomime villain when he bids to guide Japan to a shock win over England on Sunday.
Veteran coach Jones is facing England at Twickenham for the first time since he was sacked in 2022 and the 64-year-old Australian returns amid fresh criticism of his management style during seven years in charge of the Red Rose brigade.
Earlier this month, former England scrum-half Danny Care said Jones had created a "toxic" atmosphere, with the environment under the former Wallabies boss akin to "living in a dictatorship".
Jones, then in his second spell as Australia coach, was booed by crowds during last year's Rugby World Cup in France and could receive a similar reception from the Twickenham on faithful on Sunday.
But Genge has no doubt Jones will be energised by any negative reaction as England look to end their November series with a win following a trio of Twickenham defeats by New Zealand, Australia and world champions South Africa.
"I like the bloke. He was always... not always actually, he wasn't always nice to me, but we've got a good relationship," England prop Genge, given his Test debut by Jones in 2016, said Saturday.
"He's a master of the psychological part of player development and man-management.
"Sometimes he gets it wrong. There have been some nightmare stories of late about him. But he's a good bloke, man. He's a good guy."
The 29-year-old front-row added: "I can't imagine he's going to get a cheer when he goes on camera, but he'll love that part of it.
"He'll relish it...He will have them fired up and you saw what he did with his Japan side in 2015 that beat South Africa in Brighton."
England are on a five-game losing streak, with their last win a 52-17 thrashing of Japan in Tokyo in June -- the first game of Jones's second spell in charge of the Brave Blossoms.
But Japan captain Naoto Saito insists his team are \a much-improved side.
"We are really keen to show how much we have developed our attacking game," he said.
"Against England's fast line speed we really want to nail our accuracy in attack."
(V.Sørensen--DTZ)
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