Former Wallabies captain Stephen Moore says it’s time to ‘move on’ from Eddie Jones

Current and former Wallabies have wished Eddie Jones “the best” in his new job with Japan, but his commitment to Australia has been questioned.

Former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones will coach Japan. Picture: Sebastien Bozon / AFP

Former Wallabies captain Stephen Moore doubts Eddie Jones was ever truly committed to Australia’s cause during his disastrous second stint as national coach.

But he hopes Jones has a “good time” coaching Japan after his new role was confirmed on Wednesday night by the Japan Rugby Football Union, a month after he quit the Wallabies less than a year into a contract not due to end until 2027.

News of Japan’s interest in Jones emerged in September during the Australia’s embarrassing Rugby World Cup campaign when it was reported that the then Wallabies coach had been interviewed for its coaching job.

Despite Jones’s denials, he reportedly had a second interview last week and subsequently secured the position.

Moore – who made 129 appearances for the Wallabies in a stellar career that included selection in Australia’s 2007, 2011 and 2015 World Cup squads – was adamant that speculation about Jones’s future would have contributed to the Wallabies’ failure to reach the knockout stages of this year’s tournament,

“I know the players are going to be diplomatic because they’re still involved, but there’s no way that they wouldn’t have read and heard that stuff, and it does have an impact,” he said.

“Of course they’re going to try to block it out, but the more of those kinds of things that you have, it has an impact on the team.

“For that whole World Cup, there was stuff written every day basically about (the Jones saga), so it’s very hard to avoid that as a player.

Eddie Jones announced as Japan National Team Head Coach as of 1 January 2024

🔗 https://t.co/p0kKftmWsJ…#JapanRugbypic.twitter.com/EQeU7Xv63U

— Japan Rugby (@JRFURugby) December 13, 2023

Moore said it was time for the Wallabies to “move on” from Jones’s second tenure that lacked certainty from the time he was appointed in January.

“There have got to be questions marks over (how long he was in talks with Japan), but it felt like from the whole time that Eddie wasn’t really fully committed to what he was doing, and there was always whispers about how long he was going to hang around for,” the former Brumbies and Reds hooker said.

“Right from the start there was noise around whether he was going to leave after the World Cup. Whether he was talking to Japan or not before the World Cup, it’s all just a moot point now because it’s unfolded the way it has.

“I wish him all the best. I hope he has a good time with Japan and they’re successful. It just didn’t work with the Wallabies for one reason or another, but we all have to move on now.”

When asked on Wednesday if the reports about Jones being linked to Japan had contributed to Australia’s poor World Cup performance, flanker Fraser McReight sidestepped the issue.

“The World Cup’s behind us now, with Eddie and all that chat,” Queenslander McReight said.

“I personally wish him the best, but for us it’s done.

“It’s about bringing the lessons, and all that growth from the World Cup back here to the Reds.”

Eddie Jones will coach Japan. Picture: Toru Hanai/Getty Images

Moore said appointing the “best person for the job”, regardless of nationality, was key for the Wallabies in replacing Jones.

“That starts by assembling the best possible list of candidates you can,” Moore said

“The right person is out there – we’ve just got find them. There are some great coaches available that have coached big teams, and national teams, so we should be able get a really good candidate.”

Moore was at Ballymore on Wednesday in his role as Queensland managing director of BMS Group, a global insurance broker company that has become naming rights partner of the venue’s National Rugby Training Centre and the Reds’ major sponsor until at least 2027.