‘We’re moving forward’: Diplomatic Slipper sidesteps retort to Eddie’s ‘no hardness’ jibe

Stand-in skipper James Slipper said the Wallabies would continue to do their talking on the field, after resisting the chance to respond to Eddie Jones’ critique of Australian players having “no hardness” at the World Cup last year.

Slipper, who has taken over as captain from the injured Liam Wright, was on the receiving end of a Jones speech the day after Wales humbled the Wallabies 40-6 in Lyon. In a training field conversation later screened on the Stan documentary The Wallabies: Inside Rugby World Cup 2023, Jones told Slipper that Australian players have “got no hardness”.

“We’re not not tough, but we’re not trained to be tough now, and we’re not used to playing tough,” Jones said. “Like, it’s an exception to play tough now rather than the norm. It stands out like dogs’ balls, mate... it’s set up for failure, mate.”

A diplomatic Slipper was not shown replying in the documentary but after the Wallabies’ victory over Wales last week in Sydney, which was built on a strong forwards’ showing, the 35-year-old was asked if he had a response to Jones’ comments.

“Do you still want me to be diplomatic?” Slipper said.

James Slipper and Eddie Jones in the conversation about hardness.Credit: Stan Sport

“Look mate, to be honest, last year, it is what it is really. Everyone in the circle knows what happened. Most of the fans, rugby fans, sporting fans knew what happened, so I’m not going to spell it out again. For us as a group, we’re moving forward. We want to do our talking on the field, so that’s what we’ll be doing.

“Last week was a good step forward for us. I guess rugby teams are built off a culture, and a direct representation of how you’re going off the field is how you’re going on the field. We’re just going to keep driving that.”

Slipper was one of a number of Wallabies veterans left disillusioned by the chaotic Jones’ saga but the 135-Test prop is also far too experienced to be drawn into over-interpretation of the feelgood win in Sydney.

James Slipper talking with media in Melbourne.Credit: Getty Images

Like Australia, the touring Wales team is vastly different to the one that played in Lyon, having undergone a post-tournament regeneration, and subsequently losing their last eight Tests.

Slipper said Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt had not let the heads of the Australian players get their heads stuck in the clouds ahead of a second clash with Wales in Melbourne.

“We reviewed the game pretty hard. We’re happy with aspects of it, but we can definitely be better, and Joe’s been pretty hard on us this week getting that right,” Slipper said.

“By no means are we going to be perfect this week either. We just want to make sure our
performance is slightly better than the last one.

“We want to be winning games. The good teams are consistent throughout their performances, and that’s what we’re aiming to do.”

Rival captains Dewi Lake and James Slipper at Birrarung Marr in Melbourne.Credit: Getty Images

Slipper will captain the Wallabies for a 15th time on Saturday, and of the 90 men who’ve done the job, only 10 have a higher tally.

But after Slipper also became the most capped prop ever last weekend, passing Gethin Jenkins, the veteran said he was uncomfortable talking about his milestones. He’ll have to get used it, though, with a chance to potentially surpass George Gregan’s Australian record of 139 Tests next month.

“I get a little bit awkward around the milestones,” he said. “For me, it’s more about the team performance. I play rugby to win games in rugby, and that’s what I enjoy doing. Sitting in the changing room after a good performance, I’ll take that over most things. That’s the plan this week, and whenever I hang up the boots, I can look at everything else.”

Wales coach Warren Gatland will field his most inexperienced forward pack ever at AAMI Park after losing key forward Aaron Wainwright.

Eight of the 23 players in Wales’ inexperienced match-day squad have not won an international.

“Winning is a habit, losing is also a habit and we’ve struggled with that at the minute but as soon as we get that one under our belt … who knows what can happen,” Wales captain Dewi Lake said.

“I don’t think morale is something that we’ve been struggling with. Obviously, there’s huge disappointment after losses but as we all know, no tea, goes out on the field to lose, that’s not your goal.”

Watch All Blacks v England, Wallabies v Wales, Japan v Georgia, Springboks v Ireland, Argentina v France and Wallaroos v Black Ferns this weekend with every match streaming ad free, live and on demand on the Home of Rugby, Stan Sport.

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