TOKYO (AP) — For the first time since he resigned as coach of Australia following the team’s disastrous 2023 Rugby World Cup campaign, Eddie Jones is back to face his old team.

And in his mind, now as coach of Japan, he hopes to again torment the Wallabies, who never made it out of the group stage in that tournament two years ago in France.

Japan has never beaten the Wallabies in six previous attempts, but Jones is still optimistic.

“I enjoy beating Australia — I coached against them 10 times for England (from 2015-2022) and beat them nine times,” Jones said ahead of Saturday’s match at Tokyo’s National Stadium. “Playing against you own country, there’s always a certain amount of different feeling involved in it, but it just brings out the extreme competitive spirit within yourself.

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