Has time come for Eddie Jones to be working for, not against the Wallabies?

A current Wallabies assistant coach has called for the return of Eddie Jones to Australian rugby.

Wallabies assistant mentor Scott Wisemantel wants Eddie Jones to return to the Australian rugby fraternity – but not at the expense of current national coach Dave Rennie.

There have been increasing calls for ex-Wallabies coach Jones – who is currently in charge of England – to again become involved in the Australian program ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

Wisemantel, who has previously worked under Jones in England and Japan, is among those wanting Jones again working for, rather than against, Australia.

“I’d love to have Eddie back in Australia,” Wisemantel said.

“In what capacity, I don’t know. I just think he’d be great for the game heading into (the 2027 World Cup).

“The way that he promotes the game, the way he drums up business from your (media) end and interest … it could be an ambassador’s role for Australian rugby union, but it’d be lovely to have Eddie back.”

Scott Wisemantel (left) chats to Eddie Jones during the recent Wallabies-England Test series. Picture: Cameron Spencer / Getty Images

However, Wisemantel is also a huge fan of Rennie, whose contract expires after next year’s World Cup

“I’m biased because I’m mates with (Jones) and I’ve worked with him, but at the same time … I think Dave Rennie and this coaching staff are exceptional,” he said.

“So what capacity, I don’t know.”

Jones recently led England to a 2-1 series win over the Wallabies, with Wisemantel having since caught up with him.

“We had two hours together and all we did was speak about footy.

“It was just footy and that’s the way our relationship is. It’s never about the future and ambition and where you want to go and who you want to coach.

“That has never, ever been part of it.”

England’s series win over the Wallabies has led to some calls that star flanker Michael Hooper should be relieved of Australia’s captaincy.

However, Hooper seemingly has the full support of the Wallabies contingent.

“He’s revered,” Wisemantel said of Hooper.

“He’s a strong leader. He’s a great listener, and then he will compress and compartmentalise all the information. He’ll either paraphrase it back, or he’ll come up with an opinion and a strategy and we either disagree or we agree with it, and then we go in one direction, and away we go.

“He’s brilliant at it. He’s a world-class player. You look by position how other teams rate him – he’s world-class.”

The Wallabies are in camp on the Gold Coast before leaving on Friday for Argentina, where they will play the opening two Tests of their Rugby Championship campaign against the Michael Cheika-coached Pumas, who recently beat Scotland 2-1 in a three-Test series.

“They’re playing a lot more rugby, they’re holding the ball for longer periods and they’re doing really well, so they’ll test our defence,” Wisemantel said.

Originally published as Has time come for Eddie Jones to be working for, not against the Wallabies?