Japan coach Eddie Jones joked on Wednesday that he was “looking for a laundry basket” to escape a four-match ban imposed by his own bosses for verbally abusing a referee.

Jones will miss Japan’s Nations Championship opener against Italy in Tokyo on July 4.

The spiky Australian told reporters after naming his squad for a training camp that he was hoping to emulate football coach Jose Mourinho, who famously took an imaginative approach to get around a ban in 2005 when he was Chelsea boss.

“He went into the dressing room in a laundry basket, so I’m looking for a laundry basket,” Jones said, before adding that he was “only joking”.

Jones cut an otherwise contrite figure as he faced reporters for the first time since the JRFU announced his punishment.