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29th April 2020
12:21pm BST
Jones got the Australia head coach gig in 2001, helped no end by leading Australia A to a victory over the touring British & Irish Lions side earlier that year.
His tenure started brightly with a 2001 Tri Nations win and he led theWallabies to a World Cup final, on home turf, in 2003 only to fall to a Jonny Wilkinson-inspired England. The wheels started to come off in 2005, however, and many back in Australia saw the end-of-season tour to Europe as a last chance for Jones to salvage his coaching career with them.
The tour went badly, however, and there were defeats to France and England before the Wallabies headed to Dublin. Mitchell scored tries against the French and English and went into the Ireland game in top form.
Ireland led 6-3 at half-time thanks to two Ronan O'Gara penalties, while the Irish scrum had fronted up well. Mitchell had made a couple of carries in the first half but had been well bottled up by the Irish defence.
"I remember that game in 2005," Mitchell begins.
"I was wearing a long-sleeve under-garment, like a Skins top or whatever, in the first half. I remember going in at half-time and Eddie Jones wasn’t a very happy camper at that point. And he goes, ‘Drew, are you even f***ing out on the field, mate?’ "And what do you say to that?! He says, ‘It’s because you’ve got f***ing long sleeves on, mate. No-one’s ever played a good game with long sleeves on’. "Like I’m out on the wing and I’m cold out there. That’s why I had the long-sleever on. But I reluctantly went in and I took the long-sleever off and I scored two tries in the second half. And he comes up to me after the game and says, ‘See, mate? F***ing long sleeves, they don’t work!’"
Whether it was the rollicking from Jones, the change in mid-set or losing the long sleeves, Drew Mitchell was a player transformed after the break.
He raced in for his first try of the game after 46 minutes and sealed Australia's win with a second on 71 minutes. Ireland salvaged some pride with a late Shane Horgan try but they were well beaten.
Wales edged out the Wallabies 24-22 at the Millennium Stadium the following weekend, though, and it would be the last game Jones would coach for his country. He took up a consultancy role with Saracens in 2006 before returning back to Super Rugby and then acting as an advisor to Jake White's South Africa in 2007.
He worked wonders with Japan at the 2015 World Cup before taking up a post with England later that year. Jones has led England to two Six Nations titles (including a 2016 Grand Slam) and to the 2019 World Cup final, and all in his own inimitable style.
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