The second coming of Eddie Jones began with high hopes, and ended with Australian rugby in its deepest ever hole. How did it go so wrong?
In the last week of the Wallabies’ Rugby World Cup campaign, players and coaches were living in a state of purgatory; neither in the World Cup finals nor out of them., the Wallabies had effectively also lost their chance to play in knockout stages for the first time in World Cup history.
“It said, ‘I am proud to have worked with you. Contrary to media I haven’t signed anything and am going to spend the next month deciding my next move’,” the Wallaby player said. Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan was fuming about the Wallabies’ results on the Spring Tour, and in particular a loss to Italy on November 13. As RA’s representative in Florence, defeat was difficult viewing for McLennan at Stadio Artemio Franchi.
“Nothing was going to stop Hamish,” said a source familiar with discussions. “He went after Eddie. Hamish went and got his man. He believed it was going to be the magic pill.” Waugh, who replaced Marinos as RA chief executive, said on Tuesday of the Jones hiring: “Hindsight is a wonderful thing. When you make decisions at any time during your career ... you get presented information at the time and you make decisions based on that information.”
Jones could have a room of coaches, business figures, sporting identities, members of the media, eating out of the palm of his hand with wisecracks and a confidence-inducing spiel about the Wallabies being a genuine chance to win the World Cup.He was often seen volunteering his time to coach juniors, too.
Super Rugby sides were supportive of Jones but one official, who did not want to be named because of their continued employment, said alarm bells about communication with the Wallabies program first rang when Jones held his first mid-season camp in April. “He painted a picture that experienced guys were going to be important to the World Cup,” a Wallaby player said.
Players and coaches were slowly adjusting to life inside Camp Jones, some with more comfort than others. The Dunedin performance had given Wallabies fans a glimmer of hope but things took a sharp and unexpected turn when Jones settled on his 33-man squad for the Rugby World Cup. Jones left out many senior players – none more shocking than Hooper, who’d been battling a calf injury but was expected to be fit by the start of the World Cup; his last before international retirement. Quade Cooper, Pete Samu, Bernard Foley, Jed Holloway, Reece Hodge and Tom Wright were also omitted.
With the Wallabies’ WhatsApp group lighting up with excited chat, players who hadn’t been told began to phone Webb, asking what was going on. Jones ended up speaking to Hooper that night but Cooper didn’t take his call, and the pair still haven’t spoken. On the eve of the Wallabies’ departure from Australia, one of Jones’ assistants was unable to continue. Attack coach Davis, who’d been driven particularly hard by Jones, along with Hodgson, left the team camp in Darwin.
Jones snapped, labelling it the “worst press conference” he’d ever been involved in and inviting journalists to “give yourselves uppercuts” before walking through to customs. “We were talking about it on the day of the game,” he said. “It was a bizarre mood after that game. We got the same line as the media got. That was alarm bells. He didn’t even trust us.”
Jones decided the Wallabies wouldn’t play with any pre-set structures, and instead attack with more freedom, as they saw the opportunity before them. But also believing possession rugby was dead, Jones didn’t want to hold the ball for more than four phases.Prior to the last warm-up game against France, Jones changed the game plan again, to keep their style hidden. Australia lost to Fiji for the first time in 69 years and the next week their World Cup fate was sealed with a 40-6 loss to Wales.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Rugby Australia boss Phil Waugh apologises to fans after Eddie Jones era ends in resignationThe Wallabies' worst World Cup ended the reign of Eddie Jones 10 months into a five-year deal, and RA chief executive Phil Waugh says he does not want to rush the process of finding a replacement.
Read more »
Panel appointed to review Wallabies’ World Cup debacle under Eddie JonesFormer Wallabies and high performance expert to conduct a review of Australia’s dismal 2023 season and World Cup failure under Eddie Jones
Read more »
‘It was bizarre’: The inside story of Eddie Jones’ chaotic second-comingThe second coming of Eddie Jones began with high hopes, and ended with Australian rugby in its deepest ever hole. How did it go so wrong?
Read more »
‘It was bizarre’: The inside story of Eddie Jones’ chaotic second comingThe second coming of Eddie Jones began with high hopes, and ended with Australian rugby in its deepest ever hole. How did it go so wrong?
Read more »
Award-winning maths teacher Eddie Woo shares how he unwinds and finds a work-life balanceMaths teacher and YouTube sensation Eddie Woo has a busy family life and many extracurricular activities. This is how he finds some work-life balance.
Read more »