Rugby World Cup: Wallabies coach Eddie Jones admits job is on the line against Wales as team revealed
Wallabies coach Eddie Jones says he’ll understand if he is sacked if his side go down to Wales, admitting he’s “let Australian rugby down” in an explosive media conference.
Wallabies
Don't miss out on the headlines from Wallabies. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Eddie Jones says he’ll completely understand if Rugby Australia fires him if the Wallabies lose to Wales this weekend and miss the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time.
But that’s not to say Jones is throwing in the towel yet.
On the contrary, the old warhorse remains supremely confident the Wallabies will beat Wales in Lyon and qualify for the knockout phase.
But he has conceded, for the first time, that his job could be on the line if the Australians lose.
“I‘ve been coaching for 30 years, mate. I think I know what’s coming,” he told reporters during an explosive press conference in central France.
I think I am 100 per cent doing the right thing for Australian rugby and I apologise for the results.
“I can get down on my knees and do the Japanese thing if you want me to. I can‘t apologise anymore guys, I am really sorry we haven’t had better results. But what I know is what we are doing is right for Australian rugby.”
For now, RA’s bosses have reassured Jones his job is safe through to the 2027 World Cup because they want him to rebuild the Wallabies from the ground up.
But Jones — who was sacked by Australia (in 2005) and by England (2022) after getting both teams into the previous World Cup finals — knows there are never any guarantees in the cutthroat world of international coaching.
“I‘ve let Australian rugby down. I haven’t done the job I was brought in to do. I was brought in to turn it around, so I feel that responsibility,” Jones said.
“At the end of the World Cup there’ll be a review. And given the results we‘ve had, then maybe Australian Rugby doesn’t want to keep me. That’s the reality of the job I live in. And I understand that.”
.
Jones was only reappointed nine months ago when Dave Rennie was sacked after he had also been given assurances he was a shoo-in to lead the Wallabies to the World Cup.
Rennie’s winning strike rate over three years was a dismal 38%, the worst in the professional era.
But in the seven matches the Wallabies have played under Jones, the Australians have won just one game — against Georgia — for a 14% winning strike rate.
They now find themselves staring down the barrel of failing to make it out of the group stage at the World Cup, with the blowtorch being applied directly on Jones.
As head coach, the 63-year-old has copped most of the blame for his decision to ditch a lot of the team’s most experienced players and replace them with a new, younger group he believes represents the future.
Few people disagree the Wallabies need a fresh start after years of mediocre results, but there’s growing resentment about why he made so many changes so close to the sport’s biggest tournament.
Jones has heard the criticism but is unrepentant.
“I don’t think that’s the future of Australian rugby. Those guys have been around, results over the last period of time haven’t been what they need to be,” he said.
“Our results are even worse, but sometimes you’ve got to do that to go forward. We need to create a new group of players that have higher standards of training, higher standards of behaviour, higher standards of expectation.”
Jones is an easy scapegoat for Australian rugby’s deep-rooted problems because he’s a call-it-as-he-sees-it streetfighter.
Part genius, part pugilist, he doesn’t mind who he upsets along the way and remains steadfast in his belief that what he’s doing is in the best interests of Australian rugby.
“I‘ve been very clear about the fact that I’ve been brought in to change Australian rugby. The results haven’t been good but I’m bringing through a young team that can be the basis of the team going forward,” he said.
“I‘ve made no bones about that. I think I’ve explained that very clearly. And we’ve needed to move plays on.
“I don‘t try to make myself out as a saint, but sometimes you’ve got to take some hard decisions to get the results further down the track,” he said.
“I don‘t know of any team that you can come in and blow magic over. You’ve got to go through a process and you’ve got to find out what’s wrong with the team. And then you’ve got to try to address those problems.
“So, I sit here very comfortably feeling like I‘m doing the job I should be doing. Now, I know people are upset about it, and I understand that and I wouldn’t be too far as a fan, because the results aren’t good enough, but sometimes there’s some pain before you get some success.”
Pressed why he didn’t wait until after the World Cup before making wholesale changes, Jones said it would have been futile to delay any further, warning it could take a lot longer than people expect.
“I don’t think waiting is the right answer. You need to start building a team. To win a World Cup I reckon it takes six years,” he said.
“Most teams are made in six years. Very rarely it’s done before that. It can be, but you look at most teams and they’re groups of young players who start together, might win Under-20s together, have one or two years where they have a tough time, then they mature into a good team.
“Everyone wants results and they want results immediately. So all I can say to the fans is that we‘re working every day to get better and there’s no more I can ask from my players.”
Jones’ admission that he thinks it takes six years to build a team capable of winning a World Cup will further infuriate his growing army of critics who believe he’s played everyone for fools.
At times sounding like a second car salesman, he’s been telling everyone who will listen that the Wallabies are a Ferrari when they look like a clapped-out old bomb.
But the one thing to always remember is that he is also a proven winner at the World Cup, with a record the envy of any coach in the game,
And he has the belief of the Australian players, who are all on board with his vision of how to turn things around.
For them, and Jones, this weekend is not the end, it’s the beginning.
“We’re not trying to be a mediocre team,” Jones said.
“If we wanted to be a mediocre team there’s other things we could’ve done.
“But we want to be a really good team, and to be a really good team there’s some pain and failure involved in being a really good team.
“No-one likes to rebuild. But we‘ve seen little green shoots and I see some of the good young players coming through now that are really going to be great players for Australia in the future.
“We‘re alive, mate. All you’ve got to be is alive. If we beat Wales on Sunday we’re alive and that’s all we’ve got to be.
“When you coach, you make a choice to put yourself in these positions. If I didn‘t want to put myself in these positions I could be teaching and I could have a nice life.
“Get up every morning, wife puts the packed lunch in the bag, put a shirt and tie on, know what I am going to do. I am going to teach six periods. Come home, wash the dog, clean the car, watch the Channel 7 news or ABC news and then get the packed lunch ready for the next day.
“I could have done that mate but I made a choice to coach and I love winning. And I love when you‘ve got to try and create a team that everyone thinks they’re going to lose, to put themselves in a position where they can win. That’s the, I don’t know whether it’s a drug (but) that’s the rush of coaching.
“And you get more people when they smell blood. We‘ve got 10-times more than we normally have in the Australian press conference because people smell blood. That makes it even more exciting.”
EDDIE JONES EXPLAINS WHY HE DROPPED YOUNG WALLABY
Wallabies coach Eddie Jones has wielded the axe after last weekend’s shocking World Cup loss to Fiji, bringing in four fresh bodies for this weekend’s must-win clash with Wales in Lyon.
Brimming with confidence even though the Wallabies are staring down the barrel of their earliest exit ever from a World Cup if they don’t beat Wales, Jones has responded the old fashioned way: by dumping players who underperformed.
“We’ve got to be an adaptable team. We’re a young team finding its way and that’s part of the World Cup campaign,” Jones said.
“I’ve got no doubt we’ll win on Sunday. Got no doubt the way the team’s prepared, the way they’ve come together. I’ve got no doubt we’ll win on Sunday.”
Rookie five-eighth Carter Gordon, veteran halfback Nic White and openside flanker Fraser McReight have all been dropped from the starting side.
Three more players – prop Zane Nonggorr, halfback Issak Fines-Leleiwasa and outside back Lalakai Foketi – were also cut from the bench, while Jordan Uelese was replaced as the reserve hooker because of concussion protocol.
In a major reshuffle to the starting backline, Ben Donaldson was moved from fullback to replace Carter as the playmaker.
Carter, the only specialist flyhalf in the squad after Jones left out Quade Cooper, was retained on the bench and Jones said he would still have a role to play despite being booted out of the starting line-up..
“We just feel we needed to freshen the team up,” Jones said.
“Carter’s had an opportunity, struggled a bit against Fiji and I thought that he’s best to finish the game for us.
“I think with young players, you’ve got to have a feel with where they are and sometimes you need to back ‘em and sometimes you need to pull them away a little bit.
“And at the moment we feel like it’s best to pull him away a little bit.
“He’s obviously disappointed. Every player is disappointed. They all want to start. But he knows he’s got an important role in the team.”
A surprise omission from the past two games, the elusive Andrew Kellaway was named as the new starting fullback.
“He’s a smart player,” Jones said.
“He reads the game well and against Wales particularly, who are an exceptionally high kicking team, I think his composure and his ability to read the game well is going to be important.”
Livewire halfback Tate McDermott, who missed the match against Fiji after getting a head knock in the win over Georgia, returns as vice-captain with White relegated to the bench at the expense of Fines-Leleiwasa.
Donaldon will retain the kicking duties as well as running the backline.
“Ben attacks the line well,” Jones said.
“When he came on in the second half (against Fiji), he really attacked the line well and against Wales, if we’re able to get some quick ruck ball, we’ve got Wayne Barnes who generally referees the game with quick ruck ball, we need a 10 who can attack the line.”
Jones stuck with the same tight five that held their own against Fiji in the set pieces, retaining Dave Porecki as captain in the continued absence of injured skipper Will Skelton.
But he reshuffled the backrow, dropping McReight – who was picked ahead of long-time former captain Michael Hooper, to the bench.
Bathurst youngster Tom Hooper, who played blindside flanker in the first two matches, will take over McReight’s position at openside with Rob Leota coming off the bench to start at six.
“We’ve just gone for a bit of a heavier back-row this week,” Jones said.
“We think there’s going to be a fair bit of quick ball this week, which will suit Tom Hooper at seven.
“And Leota gives us much more carry. Without (Taniela) Tupou and Skelton, we just lacked a bit of carry in the forwards and we wanted to get a bit more carry there.”
In the reserves, Matt Faessler returns for Uelese while tighthead prop Pone Fa’amausili was named for the first time in the tournament after recovering from a calf injury.
More Coverage
Originally published as Rugby World Cup: Wallabies coach Eddie Jones admits job is on the line against Wales as team revealed