Dave Rennie sacked via Zoom, Eddie Jones returns as Wallabies coach

In the end it was a swift and ruthless exit, but the plot to sack Wallabies coach Dave Rennie and replace him with Eddie Jones was months in the making.

Eddie Jones is set to take the Wallabies to the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Picture: AFP

Dave Rennie was sacked over Zoom at 6am Monday morning.

The news was delivered via video conference by Rugby Australia chief executive Andy Marinos, who is in South Africa.

It came after Eddie Jones signed an offer from RA, worth about $4.5 million over five years, at 11.30pm last Saturday night. His appointment was ratified by the RA board on Sunday morning.

Rennie got off the Zoom call, packed his bags and flew home to New Zealand.

Jones will arrive in Australia next week to mount one of the most unlikely World Cup campaigns in history, with just eight months’ preparation and five games before their first pool game against Georgia, in Paris, on September 9.

The dramatic axing of Rennie, who had planned a World Cup campaign for three years, only to be sacked after holding an extensive, and expensive Wallabies camp in the Gold Coast last week where he went over game plans and strategy with 44 players, was a brutal end to a disappointing tenure.

Wallabies head coach Dave Rennie was sacked via Zoom. Picture: Phil Walter/Getty Images

Rennie managed just 13 wins from 34 games in charge of Australia, a win percentage of 38.24, the worst of any Wallabies coach with more than 30 Tests.

For RA, and chairman Hamish McLennan, the moment Jones was sacked by the RFU in December and became available, the wheels were in motion to oust Rennie.

He flew to London, had chicken wraps with Jones at a cafe just outside London, and orchestrated the remarkable deal.

And McLennan makes no bones about his expectations now.

“I absolutely believe we can win the World Cup, and I think it could be the greatest comeback ever,” McLennan told News Corp Australia.

“This thing can be fixed, and he’ll be a big of it, our turnaround.

“Buckle up, it’s going to be a fun ride.

“You wait, you get the Wallabies winning, we win the World Cup, we win the British & Irish Lions series, we win the Bledisloe Cup, it all comes back.”

That is Jones’ enormous task. He’ll oversee the Wallabies’ 2023 and 2027 World Cup campaigns, the Lions series hosted in Australia in 2025, as well the women’s Wallaroos’ program.

Dave Rennie had a horror record as Wallabies coach. Picture: Mark Runnacles/Getty Images.

“His major focus is the Wallabies, and he’s going to oversee Wallaroos coach selection and make sure the women get access to the hub of the best thinking of rugby in Australia,” McLennan said.

As for Jones’ reputation as a fearsome boss who has a high turnover of staff, McLennnan said: “We need an injection of toughness into rugby in Australia, that’s unique to us and a key differentiator, and I want it.”

Rennie’s assistant coaches Dan McKellar and Laurie Fisher remain in place for now.

“We’re giving [Jones] a lot of latitude, and everyone needs to hold their horses and wait for him to arrive,” McLennan said.

“I think it could be the best learning experience of their careers.

“Even two years ago, we were saying we need to think more long-term about the game and so we’ve been thinking 2024 for Eddie, never believing that England would cut him.

“Then they cut him, we’d had a pretty average spring tour, and we went into overdrive to try to secure him.”

Eddie Jones is back as Wallabies coach. Picture: David Rogers/Getty Images

Rennie, sensing RA was not going to extend his contract beyond the World Cup, is understood to have agreed to terms with Japanese Top League club Kobe Steelers from October.

But he was blindsided by his axing on Monday. As late as last week, he was rejecting the idea of Jones joining his coaching team for the 23 World Cup campaign.

Jones begins his second stint as Wallabies coach on January 29, and will need to get across all five Super Rugby teams’ plans before his first Test is played in Pretoria against South Africa on July 8.

“It is a wonderful opportunity for me to be able to come home to Australia and lead my nation to a Rugby World Cup,” said Jones, who previously coached the Wallabies from 2001-05.

Dave Rennie is understood to have agreed to terms with Japanese Top League club Kobe Steelers. Picture: Fiona Goodall/Getty Images

“It is going to be an immense period for Australian rugby – as a proud Australian, it is a great honour to be able to come home and lead the national team during these years.

“The Wallabies squad is a really talented group of players with good depth – if we can have everyone fit and healthy going into the World Cup this year, I am confident that we can go to France and break the 24-year drought of winning the Rugby World Cup.”

In a statement, Marinos said of Rennie: “Dave has been instrumental in developing much of the depth that we see in and around the current Wallabies squad; there are a number of players that are genuine World Cup possibilities because of opportunities that Dave has provided.

“The work ethic, the spirit within the group, and the way the team carries itself are all a direct result of Dave’s input – he has made a real mark on this group of players.”

Originally published as Dave Rennie sacked via Zoom, Eddie Jones returns as Wallabies coach