Simnikiwe Xabanisa | Eddie Jones blurring the lines between mad genius and, well, just plain mad

Eddie Jones has had more spats with rugby hacks than he's had wins this season. There's a fine line between deflecting attention from your team and doing it because you have very little to offer, writes Simnikiwe Xabanisa.

Eddie Jones' isiXhosa commentary nickname is Dyakalashe (The Jackal) because, as a coach, he's as slippery as they come.

As nicknames go, it's a particularly well-earned one from the many opposition coaches he's outfoxed in a decades-long career. Think of the "four more years, boys!" Rugby World Cup semi-final with Australia against New Zealand in 2003, the Miracle of Brighton with Japan against the Springboks in 2015, and the seismic semi-final upset of the luckless All Blacks preceded by England's Owen Farrell's infamous smirk while facing the Haka in 2019.

Based on that permanently quizzically raised eyebrow, the twinkle in the eye, and an irascible bedside manner for fools - be they in the form of his own players, assistant coaches or sports writers - the legendary Aussie coach's entire reputation is built on the notion that he knows something the rest of the free world doesn't.

The more his results have dried up in the four years since his last big defeat - England's embarrassing World Cup final loss to underdogs South Africa - the more Jones has relied on his standing as a man likely to pull a rabbit out of the hat when everyone least expects it.

A great example of that is how he has insulted sports hacks in all three of the former Tri-Nations countries, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, as he has stumbled from one defeat to another in his capacity as the Wallabies' new coach.

As things stand, Jones, who was recruited to replace Dave Rennie to effect an urgent turnaround strategy for the