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England vs Australia: Eddie Jones ready for mind-games after being 'shunted' through customs at Brisbane Airport

Jones had his bags searched upon his return to Australia ahead of England's three-Test tour

Jack de Menezes
Thursday 02 June 2016 11:24 BST
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Eddie Jones arrives at Brisbane Airport with the rest of the England squad
Eddie Jones arrives at Brisbane Airport with the rest of the England squad

England head coach Eddie Jones believes the mind-games with Australia have already started after he was “shunted” into a queue by customs officials to have his bags searched upon arrival in Brisbane ahead of the three-Test tour of his homeland.

The 56-year-old Australian is one of the most famous sporting faces in Australia, but that didn’t stop custom officials taking an interest in his possessions as he arrived at Brisbane Airport along with the 32-man England squad that will face the Wallabies in three Tests later this month.

Jones, who took Australia to the Rugby World Cup final in 2003 only to lose to England, is hoping to build on the Six Nations Grand Slam that the team secured in March, while they also defeated Wales 27-13 on Sunday in a pre-tour international.

But any hopes of a smooth return Down Under quickly went out the window for Jones, and he admitted that he expected nothing less from the locals and warned his side to expect plenty more in the coming weeks.

"Everything that's done around the game is going to be co-ordinated, all co-ordinated to help Australia win," Jones told local media.

"I just went through immigration and I got shunted through the area where everything got checked. That's what I'm expecting, mate.

"We've got to be good enough to control what we can control."

In Australia, we've won three tests since Captain Cook arrived, so it's not a great record is it?

&#13; <p>Eddie Jones</p>&#13;

Australia has notoriously strict customs regulations and full bag checks are a common sight, although Jones will probably have been recognised upon his return and as an Australian citizen, his selection clearly feels like there’s is a bigger motive at play, according to the head coach.

Having avenged their World Cup defeat by Wales in both the Six Nations and last weekend’s Test at Twickenham, England will hope to do the same against Australia, with the Wallabies’ comprehensive 37-17 victory confirmed England’s World Cup elimination in the pool stages to complete a disappointing campaign under Stuart Lancaster.

With Jones at the helm, England are going through something of a rebuilding process, and they come up against one of the world’s most renowned coaches in Michael Cheika, whose friendly rivalry with Jones could lead to plenty of fireworks during the tour – which gets underway at Brisbane’s Lang Park on 11 June.

"Australia are ranked second in the world, they've got the best coach in the world and they're playing in their own backyard so they are going to be strong," Jones said.

"In Australia, we've won three tests since Captain Cook arrived, so it's not a great record is it?”

After confirming that he hasn’t got any plans to share a beer with hir former Randwick team-mate in Cheika, Jones added: "He's been very quiet, it's a new Cheika we're facing at the moment but I'm sure the old one will come out.”

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