Canberra coach Ricky Stuart joins England camp before likely showdown against Wallabies
As Canberra look to move on from their controversial NRL grand final defeat, coach Ricky Stuart has joined Eddie Jones’ England team in Japan in a bid to find way to take the Raiders forward.
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Eddie Jones has brought Canberra Raiders’ grand final coach Ricky Stuart into England’s inner sanctum days before they’re set to play Australia in the World Cup quarter-final.
Stuart flew to Japan on Thursday, four days after his Raiders side suffered a controversial defeat to Sydney Roosters in the NRL decider, and will join Jones in Japan.
An Australian, and a former Wallabies coach, Jones is now plotting to break Aussie hearts by leading England to a playoff victory over Michael Cheika’s team on October 19, and is sure to be picking Stuart’s brain about knockout football.
Stuart said this trip is about absorbing knowledge to become a better coach next year.
“It’s for me to become better for my players,” Stuart told The Daily Telegraph.
“It’s really their moment. It is something that’s been in the planning for a couple of months. I know Eddie, he is a world class operator.
“The reason we picked the quarter-final was that we wanted to experiences their operations and processes.
“I’m very fortunate and privileged that Eddie has given us the opportunity to gain insight into these intense moments.”
Stuart travelled to Japan with Raiders football manager Matt Ford and head of physical performance Nigel Ashley-Jones — who previously worked with Jones in England.
Stuart and Jones also have history.
“I played a game of rugby against Eddie when I was a young kid, and I had a day with him when he was coaching the Brumbies,” Stuart said.
England’s final pool match against France was cancelled on Thursday due to Typhoon Hagibis which is threatening to cause mass havoc across Japan.
The cancellation ensures England will finish top of Pool C and play the runners-up of Pool D in the quarters.
With Wales leading Pool D and the Wallabies in second place, the only way Australia can avoid England in the quarters is to beat Georgia on Friday night, then hope the Welsh suffer a huge upset loss to Uruguay on Sunday.
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This is not the first time Jones has invited an NRL legend into his camp before playing the Wallabies; he previously used the expertise of Andrew Johns to mentor his playmakers before they defeated the Wallabies in Sydney in 2016.
Jones has an undefeated 6-0 record against Cheika since taking over as England coach at the start of 2016.
Stuart, who grew up playing rugby and was a Wallaby tourist in 1987 before switching to league, recently signed a three-year contract extension that will see him become the longest-serving coach of the Raiders, where he won premierships as a player in 1989, 1990 and 1994.
Stuart is also a friend of Cheika, who ironically is close to Roosters coach Trent Robinson.
Cheika’s Wallabies and Robinson’s Roosters have run opposed training sessions in recent years.