Jones' tears of joy and heartbreak
Jones, 55, was a tenacious hooker who never made the Wallaby side. But he has come into his element as one of the most respected coaches of the past two decades.
He guided Australia to the 2003 World Cup final in Sydney where England's Jonny Wilkinson sent over a last minute drop kick to break Australian hearts.
Jones went on to become an advisor to the South African side that won the 2007 World Cup. His work was widely praised but he was never allowed to wear the Springbok green blazer as he is not South African.
Though born in Tasmania, Jones's mother is a Japanese-American and it was with Japan's Brave Blossoms that he recorded his biggest success so far.
Japan started their World Cup with a stunning 34-32 pool win over South Africa. Japan won a penalty that could have seen them kick points for a draw but captain Michael Leitch went against Jones' preferred option and forged ahead for a try. The rest is World Cup history.
"I tried to get the message down to take the kick at goal," Jones said in a Daily Mail column afterwards.
"Luckily by the time the message got to the players the decision to kick for touch had already been taken. I thought to myself 'fair enough here we go," he added.
"When Karne Hesketh crossed for the injury time try it was the most emotional I have been since coaching the Wallabies to a semifinal win over the All Blacks at the 2003 World Cup."
"When we got down to pitch level it seemed as if everyone was crying. I've never seen more grown men in tears."
But Jones is a tough coach who bases a lot of his work on the appliance of science. He turned Japan into bulldog-fit competitors for the World Cup where they won three games but still did not make the quarterfinals.
Under the Jones regime, the Japanese players began their punishing daily training at 5.00 am in a bid to get a jump on their rivals.
His scientific training methods aimed to wring every last drop of energy from his players as part of his giant-killing masterplan. Jones instilled a sense of self-belief in Japan, underlined by a run of 10 successive wins last year that saw them break into the world's top 10 for the first time.
Jones – who suffered a stroke in 2013 halfway through his Japan stay – also cut back on the number of foreign players.
He has little tolerance for squad members who do not embrace the Jones way. And that could be one of many challenges in England, one of the wealthiest rugby nations where the team has been stricken by divisions.
He said during the World Cup that England had lost the "bulldog spirit" that marked their 2003 World Cup win.
He has criticised the setup in England where players are under contract to clubs, not the Rugby Football Union calling it the "single greatest task ahead of whoever is going to be appointed as the next England coach."
In an interview Jones also hit out at Europe's Six Nations tournament compared to the Southern Hemisphere's Rugby Championship.
"The Six Nations is a dour affair and is built on the foundation of not allowing the opposition to score points, he said.
"On the flipside, the Rugby Championship is all about scoring more points than the opposition."
Jones now has to turn the team of the Red Rose into Brave Blossoms in time for the 2019 World Cup – back in Japan.
Ten things you need to know about Jones:
1. Jones played 12 times for provincial side New South Wales as a hooker including a match against the British and Irish Lions in 1989
2. The 55 year-old was born in Burnie, Tazmania to a Japanese American mother and an Australian father
3. Jones was head coach of Australia when England beat them in the 2003 Rugby World Cup final
4. He was part of the South African coaching staff when the Springboks beat England in the 2007 Rugby World Cup final
5. He coached Japan for three years and famously beat South Africa in the 2015 Rugby World Cup on the way to becoming the first team to win three pool matches and not progress to the knockout stages
6. The accomplished coach was a school teacher before giving up his job to join Randwick
7. Jones started his coaching career 21 years ago at Sydney based side Randwick DURFC
8. Jones discovered the talent of Australia great George Smith who was attending a Rugby League trial to join Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
9. In 2001, he coached Australia A to victory over the British & Irish Lions
10. He is the first non-Englishman to become head coach of the England rugby team
Agence France-Presse & @EnglandRugby
