Eddie Jones: England's new head coach is ‘his own man, who knows what he wants,’ says former colleague

Alex Sanderson, the forwards coach at Saracens, was given his first coaching role by Jones in 2006 after retiring as a player in his twenties

Helping hand: Alex Sanderson worked with Jones and talks of his caring side (Getty)

According to the men in England who know Eddie Jones best, the new head coach is a demanding workaholic with a gentle, generous side, and arguably better suited emotionally to the short, sharp work of Test rugby than the more prosaic rhythms of the club scene.

“There is very little compromise with Eddie, he is his own man with knowing what he wants and getting it,” said Alex Sanderson, the forwards coach at Saracens, who was given his first coaching role by Jones in 2006 after retiring early as a player, in his twenties.

Sanderson was a flanker at Saracens when Jones arrived in London for a four-month rescue job in early 2006, and he followed the Australian Down Under later the same year to spend a season together at Queensland Reds. They resumed as colleagues at Saracens for the 2008-09 season that ended prematurely for Jones as head coach when he fell out with the club’s South African-influenced board.

“In Queensland we shared in the Reds’ worst Super Rugby season, horrendous in terms of results and a baptism of fire for me,” said Sanderson. “But a lot of the players Eddie had there – Will Genia, James Horwill, Stephen Moore – came through very well, and coaching isn’t always about the result on the weekend, it’s about players’ development.”

Sanderson and Saracens’ defence coach, Paul Gustard, have been mentioned as possible assistants to Jones, who will announce his backroom staff after starting the England job formally on 1 December. The current England backs coach, Andy Farrell, was made Sarries’ co-captain by Jones for 2008-09; the other one was Steve Borthwick, now an assistant coach at Bristol, but tipped recently by Jones himself for immediate service with England.

“I’m currently negotiating a new contract with Saracens, and I am very happy with what I’m doing.” said Gustard on Friday, but that was immediately after the English champions’ superb Champions Cup win away to Ulster, which Farrell attended.

Meanwhile, Sanderson gave a distinctive insight into his old confrère Jones – who, by parting with the Stormers last week, has now left two clubs heavily invested in by the South African tycoon Johann Rupert. Jones used to get in to Saracens at 5am each day to do his paperwork before the players arrived. This was before the famous team-bonding trips to New York and the Munich beer festival, although Jones did arrange a 10-day training camp in Portugal.

“I owe a lot to Eddie and he is a guy I massively respect,” said Sanderson. “He is certainly a unique character. I don’t think he has one playing style – he knows what would suit the personnel he has to deal with. The structures he is able to put into an organisation are second to none. He’ll look at other sports, and in rugby he will try and pre-empt the playing trends, and the trends in refereeing and strength and conditioning.

“From my experience he is more adept at coaching at international level than at a club because of the differences in intensity and time levels. At a club it’s about keeping people happy for 11 months a year, week after week. International rugby is making people perform for eight games a year, a different kettle of fish, which I think Eddie is better suited to.

England head coach Eddie Jones at his first press conference since taking the job (Getty) (Getty Images)

“He has had 14 appointments in 21 years, so it doesn’t always work out for him. But it takes two to tango, and if people aren’t willing to compromise with Eddie he is not going to hang around.”

In the same vein, Jones, a Tasmanian, was nicknamed “The Devil” by Japan’s players for his tough training regime. But Sanderson also relates counterbalancing tales of emotional intelligence.

“He is a loving, caring man that you don’t see on the side of the field. His wife used to send me fruit every morning in Australia, knowing I was on my own there at that time, and birthday presents, and I still speak to his daughter from time to time. That’s what I think of with Eddie, now the dust has settled and the scars have healed – because it is hard work, working with him. His standards at the time were probably a bit too high for me.

“Not that coaching is always about being a nice human being, it’s about winning. He’s got the credentials, he’s got the experience, it’s whether he can do it with this group of English players.”

Coach journey: Jones’s travels

1994: Randwick

1995-96: Tokai University

1996: Japan (assistant)

1997: Suntory Sungoliath

1998-2001: ACT Brumbies

2001-05: Australia

2006: Saracens (consultant)

2007: Queensland Reds

2007: South Africa (assistant)

2007-09: Saracens

2009-12: Suntory Sungoliath

2012-15: Japan

2015: Stormers

2015: England