‘When he says something, we listen’: Jones says Wallabies will treasure Hansen advice

Eddie Jones has described inviting former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen into Wallabies camp as like asking a mate for advice over a beer, but he plans to soak up the “wisdom” of the Kiwi supercoach and implement as much as possible at the Rugby World Cup.

The inclusion of Hansen to the Wallabies camp this week in Paris ahead of a clash with France, as revealed by this masthead, has caused uproar in New Zealand, with current and past All Blacks “gobsmacked” and even Prime Minister Chris Hipkins joking that the World Cup-winning coach may get his citizenship revoked.

After Hansen tried to calm the waters about his non-paid role, saying it was a favour to a friend, Jones explained further the unusual coaching collaboration, and revealed he’d asked Hansen to observe the Wallabies for a week and give feedback on training quality and leadership.

And though he didn’t spell it out as such, Hansen’s presence may even be serving to keep Jones on the level ahead of his fifth World Cup, with Jones admitting the job at hand with a young Aussie squad feels “daunting”.

“I’ve coached against Steve since 1998 so we’ve got a long relationship, enjoy each other’s company and I had the thought we always wanted this week to be a reset week for us,” Jones said in Paris.

“We’ve been through the Rugby Championship, done our Australian responsibilities and not it’s a reset, so we’ve brought in Steve to have a look at what we’re doing.

Eddie Jones (left) and Steve Hansen (right) shake hands before the 2019 Rugby World Cup semi-final between England and New Zealand.Credit: Getty

“It’s purely like a mate, coming in having a beer: ‘What do you think, where can we improve?’.

“There’s two main areas: there’s training quality, which is our way of improving, and leadership of the team. So Steve is having a look at both of those areas.

“Every time he speaks there is some wisdom is what he says. When he says something, we are listening to him and how we can improve what we are doing, we are looking to see if we can use his advice to do that.”

Jones said the Wallabies squad had responded positively to Hansen in their midst, pointing to his exceptional winning record with the All Blacks. Between 2012 and 2019, Hansen won 92 per cent of games as head coach of New Zealand, including the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

Mark Nawaqanitawase is tackled at Wallabies training.Credit: Getty

Hansen’s comfort levels are probably eased, too, by the fact he only coached against six of the Wallabies’ greenhorn 33-man squad: James Slipper, Taniela Tupou, Nic White, Will Skelton, Samu Kerevi and Marika Koroibete.

“Well they like good people coming into camp, they want to get better and they can see the value of Steve ... and he’s a good person, so the reaction has been really positive, mate,” Jones said.

The late addition of Jason Ryles to the Wallabies staff was also explained by Jones, who said the NRL coaching figure and ex-England assistant would be build on Jones’ vision and plans.

“His job is just to add details of the attack; the philosophy of the attack and the strategy of the attack is my responsibility, it always has been,” Jones said.

Issak Fines-Leleiwasa passes under the pressure of Tate McDermott.Credit: Getty

“So his job is to add detail and even today, you know, first session out there, he’s now looking at the video looking to see how we can improve our running lines, our deception and our first phase play.“

The Wallabies take on France on Monday morning (AEST) in Paris, but there’s uncertainty about whether either team will field a full-strength side for the final warm-up clash.

Jones indicated the French may rest many of their top side – perhaps spooked by the recent loss of injured star no.10 Romain Ntamack – and the Wallabies coach said the only focus was the World Cup opener against Georgia on September 9. Taniela Tupou (ribs) is good to go, but Samu Kerevi (hand) and Josh Kemeny (hand) are not likely to be fit, Jones said.

The game shapes as a good opportunity for Ben Donaldson to get more game time, given he is a back-up no.10 and no.15, and didn’t play a minute of the Rugby Championship.

In explaining why he liked Donaldson, Jones revealed more about the way he is looking to change the Wallabies’ attack and admitted the Randwick connection is a factor. Donaldson and Jones both hail from the Galloping Greens.

“He’s got the skill set we want, which is to be able to play the game as it comes,” Jones said.

“We’ve tried to restructure, we’re restructuring our attack to be much more, we want to play to play, rather than create points to play ... and what I mean is points on the field ... which has been the Australian style.

“So we’re going completely away from that and that suits his natural game. You know, coming out of Randwick that’s how we play, well that’s how Randwick play, a more natural style of game so I’ve been really impressed by what he’s doing.”

Asked how he is feeling ahead of his second Rugby World Cup with the Wallabies, 20 years apart, Jones said: “This team, it’s a different project because we’ve got a young team. I think 26 of the 33 have played under 10 Tests. So we’ve deliberately gone down the path of regenerating Australian rugby.

“So how do I feel about it? I’d be a liar to say I didn’t feel like it was daunting. But at the same time, I feel there’s probably two young teams in the World Cup in the top eight and that’s us and France. So we are the teams with the most growth.”

Jones was also appointed in an “overseeing” role of the Wallaroos program when he returned to Rugby Australia, but addressing the team’s recent public statement calling for better treatment, the Wallabies coach said he’d not had the chance to be involved beyond coaching meetings.

“I’ve got my hands a little bit full here, so that (Wallaroos protest) is obviously a secondary issue for me,” Jones said.

“But I think it’s wonderful what the Matildas have done for Australian sport and women in general, and we’re all hopeful that the Wallaroos will do the same when the time comes about. And we’re all supporting them to do that.”

Watch all the action from Rugby World Cup 2023 on the Home of Rugby, Stan Sport. Every match ad-free, live and on demand in 4K UHD from September 9.

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