Door ajar for Eddie Jones to coach Wallabies at World Cup

Eddie Jones has been offered a coaching contract with the Wallabies for 2024 but if RA power brokers get their way he is a chance to coach Australia at this year’s World Cup.

Eddie Jones says ‘I’ve got a couple of good options’ Picture: AFP.

Rugby Australia have made an offer to Eddie Jones to come home in 2024 but there is a possibility he may yet oversee the Wallabies at this year’s World Cup in France.

The major obstacle is Japan who have offered the master coach a “mega-deal” while France are also keen to have the Australian on board their set-up.

Jones earlier this week confirmed there were a “couple of good options” and he is set to make his decision in the coming weeks.

Rugby Australia powerbrokers have made no secret of their desire to “bring him home”, a man they regard as an “exceptional” leader.

When current Wallabies coach Dave Rennie was asked at a press conference on the Gold Coast on Monday whether he would work with the former England coach he replied: “It won’t happen before (the World Cup).

“There’s a fair bit of speculation about a lot of things but my focus is on this group and the World Cup. Anything else happening beyond that will be clarified over the next few months.”

Rennie’s comments have done him no favours with some at RA headquarters who left “gobsmacked”. The Weekend Australian understands that some think that if Jones agrees to terms then he should start immediately.

The three words by Rennie that stunned key people within Rugby Australia were “It won’t happen”.

Rennie’s words had them openly asking: ‘‘Why would he not want to work with one of the leading rugby coaches in the world? Dave’s never led a team at a World Cup, why wouldn’t he be open to working with Jones?”

Rennie was appointed in 2019 by then chief executive Raelene Castle and has a 38 per cent win record, the worst of any Wallabies coach in 50 years. It’s this track record that is of most concern.

That statistic alone could see the reins handed immediately to Jones, who took the Wallabies to the 2003 World Cup final, should he agree to terms.

Dave Rennie looks on prior to the Test against Italy last November. Picture: AFP.

Jones was axed as England coach in December after losing the backing of the Rugby Football Union hierarchy but upon his departure he received supportive texts from around 50 players who represented England. His winning record of 73 per cent is the best by any England coach, better than the celebrated coach and ardent Jones critic Sir Clive Woodward (71 per cent).

Jones led England to 18 straight wins which is the world record for a tier one rugby country. He steered England to win three Six Nations tournaments, one grand slam and took them to the 2019 World Cup final in Japan.

The fire has not diminished. An enthusiastic Jones told The Guardian earlier this week that he was: “ready to go again.”

Jones said of the job offers in front of him: “I’ve got a couple of good options. I’m getting to the stage of talking contracts so I’ll make a decision in the next couple of weeks.”

When asked by the journalist Donald McRae, who helped Jones write his autobiography, if he excited by “both options?” Jones replied; “100 per cent, mate.”

He also dismissed he would be an assistant to Rennie. “I’m not an assistant coach, mate. I’m not interested in that sort of job,” Jones said.

If Jones takes RA’s offer it will likely mean the end of Rennie’s tenure. There’s been rumblings that Rennie “doesn’t listen” to RA’s rugby committee’s counsel. It’s understood the Spring Tour is where the rugby committee were left flummoxed by Rennie’s coaching.

It was the 11 changes made to the starting side against Itay – with two debutants and a new captain – that floored many. The Wallabiues lost – their first ever against Italy – and the frustration with Rennie hit boiling point.

But of greater concern to the committee is the stark reality that Australia must string together seven wins to claim the World Cup – and the worrying fact is that Rennie’s team has not won two in a row since October last year.

For the last 18 months Rennie has resisted calls from the RA rugby committee to bring an independent selector in.

RA’s has had concerns over high performance selections for some time and Rennie’s resistance to bringing in an independent voice has been another area of deep concern.

After Christmas a review, an annual occurrence by RA, was delivered by an “independent panel”. As Rennie put it, there was not a “hell of a lot of surprises” in there.

Many keep circling back to “38 per cent’’ and in the end that number could prove more costly to Rennie’s future than anything else.