Eddie Jones claims to feel no guilt over standing down as Australia boss just weeks before being appointed Japan head coach - a role from which he had repeatedly distanced himself.

Despite denying in October that he had any contact with Japan representatives while he was still in charge of the Wallabies, Jones did concede he had spoken to them about their hunt for Jamie Joseph’s successor. However, Jones, who was sacked by England after seven years in charge last December, denied that this constituted a job interview.

“I didn’t do an interview before the World Cup,” Jones said. “I was asked by the recruitment agency to share my experiences on Japan and some people might have construed that as an interview. The first interview I had with Japan was in December and that’s the only one I’ve had. I don’t feel any guilt at all about this process.”

‘He lied to the players, he lied to the public’

This claim drew short shrift from critics Down Under as well as former World Cup winner Sonny Bill Williams who branded Jones a liar. Applications for the role of Japan head coach closed on Aug 18 with Jones being preferred to the South African Frans Ludeke.

“Obviously he lied to the players, he lied to the public, he lied to the Australian Rugby Union,” the former All Black centre told Australian broadcaster Channel Nine. “I feel sorry for Japan. His track record speaks for itself.”

Jones only won two of his nine matches in charge of Australia, who crashed out of the World Cup group stages for the first time in their history. He subsequently quit, claiming that Rugby Australia would not support the radical overhaul of the sport Down Under, having signed a five-year contract in January. Asked if he was prepared to apologise to the Australian fans, Jones said: “Yep. Mate, I gave everything I could for that short period of time and it wasn’t good enough.

“I feel terrible about the results of Australia because I wanted to go back and change Australia. Rugby Australia weren’t able to help support that so I decided to move on. I wish Australia all the best.”

That apology is likely to fall on deaf ears in Australia where the sense of betrayal has deepened among his former players. “My first thought was, ‘nah that’s not true, maybe it is rumours being spread’,” prop Allan Alaalatoa told the Sydney Morning Herald. “But now that it’s confirmed, it just really hurts. To be honest, mate, it did hurt when the news was confirmed he was going to Japan.

“You believe this man is going to be around with us for four or five years, and no matter what we go through, he is going to have our back. He’s going to be with us every step of the way and turn it all around. I feel for the boys because you obviously put so much trust into him and you believe in him and the game plans he brought in, and the changes he wanted to make towards the culture.”