Eddie Jones - ultra competitive
Randwick Petersham Cricket Club | February 05, 2023
Anyone meeting Eddie Jones when he played cricket for Randwick in 1974-75 could be forgiven for struggling to comprehend that in years to come, the shy, gentle and unassuming youngster would be one of the highest profile coaches in world rugby. The fact that he prepared Australia to all but win a World Cup and coached England in a series win over his former team adds to the mystery. It was an amazing transition with Eddie displaying the grit and determination he was known for on the cricket field.
Eddie Jones was just 13 when he joined Randwick DCC playing four games in the under 16 years A W Green Shield competition team. He was more of an off-spin bowler than a batsman but was a sensational fielder who raised the profile of the side. He lined up again the following 1975-76 season but because he was such a dynamic fielder, he was co-opted into the club’s under 21 years Poidevin-Gray Shield team going on to win the club’s annual Bank of NSW Award for best fieldsman. In his annual report, manager Paul Ballantyne commented that Eddie’s standard as a fielder was far in excess of anyone else in the team “leading by a wide margin with his concentration and his concerted effort for the whole time he was on the field”. It was an exceptional performance by a 14 year old who was yet to make his Grade Cricket debut.
Edmund Jones was born in Burnie, Tasmania on 30 January 1960. His mother Nellie was a Japanese American while his father Ted was Australian. They lived in the South Sydney suburb of Matraville, home to a number of top sportsmen including Australian cricketer Mike Whitney and the champion indigenous Australian rugby union twins Mark and Glen Ella who were schoolmates of Eddie at La Perouse Primary and Matraville Sports High along with another Aussie rugby star, David Knox.
Eddie made his Grade Cricket debut in 1978-79 making an impressive 68 while taking nine wickets at just 9.1 runs apiece in 5th Grade. He was promoted to 4ths where he completed the season but for one fleeting appearance in 2s. He took 16 wickets in 4th Grade the following season including a 5-40 performance against Southern Districts.
In 1980-81 Eddie scored his first century for the club when he hit 105 against Sutherland in the under 21 years Poidevin-Gray competition. His performance resulted in a win 8-213 to 212. In his annual report, team manager Phil Tresidder referred to Eddie’s ton as the highlight of the PG season and commented “in this innings unfolded some skills few knew he possessed”. Interestingly, he showed his versatility and his value as a utility player by appearing in five competitions that season—2s, 3s, 4s, 5s and PGs.
By the time he was 22, Jones was a much tougher personality with an ultra-competitive streak and had instilled an aggressive approach to his batting. In 2nd Grade in 1982-83 he smashed Cumberland for 120 and won a spot in 1st Grade. But a moderate return of 78 in five innings saw him back in 2s. Two seasons later, however, he was a major force in the 1984-85 3rd Grade team taking out the premiership defeating St George in the Grand Final, 198 to 116.
In 1985-86 Eddie played only a handful of games in 3rd Grade and one in 4ths, scoring 86* against Fairfield. In the 4th Grade annual report that season, skipper Peter Newham, himself an enthusiastic rugby footballer, made mention of Eddie’s fine innings and added “Eddie is finding it harder each season to fulfil cricket commitments due to his goal of wearing the prized number 2 guernsey for the Australian Wallabies”. They were prophetic comments in terms of his availability as in the following 1986-87 season Eddie hit a score of 40 filling-in in a 5th Grade match which was the last time he played cricket for Randwick. He played in every competition in which Randwick participated over 13 seasons scoring a total of 2,354 runs and taking 72 wickets
Throughout his cricket playing days Jones continued to play rugby for Randwick developing into an outstanding 1st Grade hooker in a team which included David Knox, Gary, Glen and Mark Ella. He played the first of his 12 matches for the NSW Rugby team in 1987 and two years later played his first international game against the British and Irish Lions. But within two years he had given away the game to concentrate on his career as a teacher at Sydney’s International Grammar School.
He subsequently became coach of the Randwick 1st Grade team in 1994 before receiving an offer the following year to coach full-time in Japan. In 1998, Jones returned to Australia taking up a coaching position with the ACT Brumbies. After leading them to win the Super 12 Rugby competition in 2001 he won the coveted role as Head Coach of the Australian Rugby Union team. Two years later he came within a whisker of being the toast of the rugby world when his side went down in the dying minutes of the 2003 World Cup Grand Final to England. A run of losses saw Eddie’s contract terminated in 2005 and after a series of coaching roles in Canberra, South Africa and Japan he was appointed England coach in 2015, leading them to the 2019 Rugby World Cup final where they were beaten by South Africa. In 2023 he returned to Australia to again take up the role of coach of the Australian National Rugby Union team.
Eddie Jones - still enjoying the odd game of cricket
