Eddie Jones has received the backing of Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus with the Japan head coach praised for his \u201chonesty and no fear mentality\u201d.<\/p>\n
Jones and Erasmus have had their battles over the years, firstly with England and then the Wallabies, while they also went head-to-head in the November series last year.<\/p>\n
Both are known for their outspoken approach and are quite happy to speak their mind, which was in evidence from the Australian when he discussed the decision to move one of the Brave Blossoms\u2019 home Nations Championship clashes to Australia.<\/p>\n
Rassie\u2019s praise for Eddie<\/p>\n
In the wake of those comments, the South Africa head coach took to X, formerly Twitter, to hail Jones\u2019<\/a> willingness to air his views, even if it ruffles a few feathers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t always agree, but really admire this honesty and no fear mentality,\u201d Erasmus<\/a> wrote, followed by a handshake emoji and an image of the Japan boss.<\/p>\n The former England boss did not hold back when talking about the decision to switch their match against Ireland<\/a> in July from Tokyo to Australia.<\/p>\n It will now be played in New South Wales, which means the Brave Blossoms have a 10-hour flight for a \u2018home\u2019 game that is sandwiched in between their encounters against Italy and France.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know why we\u2019re playing Ireland in Newcastle, right? Ireland have all the power at World Rugby<\/a>, so we have to play our home game, which should be in Tokyo, in Australia to make sure Ireland don\u2019t have to travel too much,\u201d he said on the Rugby Unity podcast.<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s be frank about this.<\/p>\n \u201cWe just have to suck it up and that\u2019s what happens when you\u2019re not a major political power at the table.\u201d<\/p>\n