Eddie Jones has revealed that he met up with double Rugby World Cup winner Jesse Kriel following the Springboks’ victory over Japan in November.

Speaking about the occasion on the YouTube show, Rugby Unity, the Japan head coach explained the reasoning behind the meeting.

“I was lucky enough to be coached by Bob Dwyer, and he always said to me, ‘The best players are the best coaches.’ So he said, ‘When you start coaching, one of the things you’ve got to do, mate, is go out and meet the best players all the time.’

“I knew Jesse Kriel, but we never really spoke. After South Africa, I said, ‘Let’s catch up when you’re back, mate’. So we organised over coffee and spent two hours just talking about what South Africa are doing. Not in any detail, but along the lines of what they’re doing well. He asked me a few questions about what we’re doing; it was just a really good chat about rugby.”

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Springboks mentality

To have won two World Cups is no simple feat, but following the two-hour chat, Jones put the key factor down to mentality. “He is one of those guys who come here (to Japan), and he gives it absolutely 100%. He plays every Test like he’s playing for the Springboks, and it’s great to see those blokes.

“You think about his World Cup record; 2015, he was in that Springbok side that got beaten by Japan. He’s won the next two World Cups, and you can see he’s just doing everything he can to be the best player he can be for the next World Cup. There’s no idea about going there and just going to the World Cup; it’s about getting to the World Cup and winning.

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“That’s the essence of what I picked up about the Springboks. At the moment, everything they do is about winning, and they know what they’re good at, they know what areas they can potentially improve in, and they’re safe, focused and diligent about it. And it’s when you get a team really humming that you hear that from the players. It’s a really good sign.”

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