Rugby analysis: Eddie Jones’ Wallabies return already a success, writes Julian Linden
Rugby in Australia is back — and it has Eddie Jones to thank. Julian Linden analyses the ‘Jones effect’ and why Dave Rennie had to go.
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Even if Eddie Jones’ return to Australian rugby ends in tears, it will still be worth it.
Rugby Australia have made some shocking appointments in recent years but sacking Dave Rennie and bringing back Jones is the one thing they have got right.
Like Rennie, Jones will ultimately be judged by the Wallabies’ results on the field.
If he delivers the Bledisloe Cup and — better still — the World Cup, they’ll erect a statue in his honour.
If he screws up, he’ll be booted out the door just as quickly as the ineffective Rennie was, but it won’t have been a wasted exercise because he’s already given the game a massive lift.
Jones is still in the honeymoon period but Friday night’s Super Rugby match between the Waratahs and the Brumbies was proof of why he’s worth every cent.
The domestic rugby competition is a shadow of what it used to be but Friday’s match at Allianz Stadium still drew more than 25,000, the biggest Sydney crowd since Covid, and you can put that all down to the Jones effect.
Although it’s not part of his job description, Jones has got everyone talking about rugby again in a way that Rennie - or any of the current players - never could.
The quietly-spoken Rennie wouldn‘t have pulled another person through the gate if he’d fought the chief cheerleader Sonny Bill Williams in front of the members.
But that’s not how Jones rolls.
He’s gone all-in trying to reinvigorate interest in the game and it’s working - because short of the Wallabies winning - he’s the biggest drawcard the struggling code has right now.
Time will tell whether he’s really the saviour or just another snake oil salesman because on the evidence of Friday’s season opener, Jones has got his work cut out transforming the Wallabies into World Cup champions in France later this year.
There were enough moments to keep the crowd entertained but this was a match more for the faithful than the newly converted.
Even so, Jones still has a way of making believers out of the doubters.
Before the game, he penned an open letter to the Australian rugby community, rallying support for what he thinks the team can achieve if everyone works together.
“Australia has the talent to win the Rugby World Cup in Paris on October 29,” he wrote.
“Right now, we don’t have the team, but we do have the talent. We also don’t have a clear path from where we start today to where we want to end up.
“Ultimately, that path will be carved by the Australian players and the choices they make between now and then. That path will be created by the standards the players set for themselves and their teammates.”
It was a stirring rallying call from Jones, especially his warning to the players about raising their game.
For too long, the Wallabies have played like pampered poodles, blaming everyone but themselves for their failings.
But under Jones, they know that excuses won’t cut it, and that alone is cause to celebrate his return.
Originally published as Rugby analysis: Eddie Jones’ Wallabies return already a success, writes Julian Linden