Eddie Jones' 'breaking point' revealed over his decision to walk
Rugby Australia boss Phil Waugh believes Eddie Jones walking away from the remaining four years of his contract is the “sensible outcome” after the Wallabies’ shambolic World Cup campaign.
And having learnt some harsh lessons, Waugh says RA won’t be rushed into finding a replacement after the governing body formally accepted Jones’s resignation just 10 months into his five-year deal on Tuesday.
Jones’s dramatic departure ends the most embarrassing year in Australian rugby history after his greenhorn Wallabies failed to progress out of the pool stages of a World Cup for the first time.
The Wallabies also endured record losses to Fiji and Wales, with Jones only managing two wins from his nine Tests in 2023.
“The campaign was clearly very disappointing and I think a proud rugby nation like Australia for us to perform the way we did was very, very disappointing,” Waugh said.
“Certainly the expectations of the organisation, the expectations of rugby supporters, all Australians, it was very, very disappointing.
“We’ve been working with Eddie through the process and think we ended up at a sensible outcome.”
Jones had been heralded as the Wallabies’ saviour when appointed as a ‘captain’s pick’ by chairman Hamish McLennan after the ruthless axing of Dave Rennie.
He coached Australia to the World Cup final in 2003 and took England to the 2019 decider before being sacked late last year after seven straight defeats.
But Jones made a series of confounding decisions on his return to the Wallabies hot seat, including naming an inexperienced World Cup squad and omitting long-serving skipper Michael Hooper and seasoned playmaker Quade Cooper.
Australia’s players were also rocked when Jones was linked with the Japan coaching vacancy. He was forced to deny he’d interviewed for the role just days out from the tournament opener in Paris.
Two weeks ago, Jones insisted he was “100 per cent committed” to overseeing the Wallabies through to the next World Cup, on home soil in 2027.
But by last weekend he had offered his resignation to the RA hierarchy.
The breaking point for Jones was RA lacking the finances to fast track the move to centralisation and greater alignment between Australia’s five Super Rugby clubs.
“When we think about not just the high performance elements but also community funding pathways, I’ve gotta be fiscally responsible as to how we spend our money,” Waugh said.
“Certainly running high-cost programs in an environment where we’re fiscally challenged we’ve got to be really sensible in the end.”
It’s believed Jones will walk away from his hefty contract without a payout.
He insisted he had no other international role to go to, including the Japan position which has yet to be filled.
As a member of the board that chose to parachute Jones in to the role, Waugh accepted his own role in the disastrous appointment and even apologised to Australian fans.
But he wouldn’t be drawn on whether McLennan, or any other heads must roll, and insisted Australian rugby was headed in the right direction ahead of hosting the 2027 global showpiece plus the British and Irish Lions in 2025.
Waugh said it was important to find the right replacement for Jones, rather than fill the role hastily, and isn’t concerned about coaches being scared away after the Wallabies’ alarming fall from grace.
“Coaches are pretty ambitious,” he said.
“I think it’s a pretty attractive role for top coaches.”
World Cup winner Stephen Larkham and fellow former Wallabies assistant Dan McKellar are expected to be RA’s top targets to replace Jones.
Larkham is currently coaching the ACT Brumbies after taking over from McKellar, who is head coach at Leicester Tigers in the UK.
McKellar was Rennie’s forwards coach, and believed to be viewed as next in line to succeed the Kiwi, but resigned earlier this year when Jones was appointed to the top job.
Waugh wouldn’t rule out Michael Cheika, who guided Australia to the 2015 World Cup final, making a return, or outgoing All Blacks coach Ian Foster, fresh off plotting New Zealand’s path to the final in France, as other potential candidates.
Comments on RugbyPass
Just came back from the game and the atmosphere was amazing. Players stayed afterwards for more than a hour to sign stuff and take photos with fans. Great day out.
4 Go to commentsA great game. The Sharks without Etsebeth are a shadow of the team compared to when he plays. The limitations of Some of the expensive Sharks players are being exposed. Credit to Clermont for some exhilaration play at times.
4 Go to comments100% Mr Owens. But who would want to be a referee.? It must be the most difficult job on earth.
1 Go to commentsStarts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
4 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
4 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
3 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
3 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to commentsyou know, i’m a leinster fan so I want Northampton to lose and it is gonna be tuff with Cortney lawes, Alex michell and the other guys🏉 lets go leinster🏉
1 Go to commentsWelcome to the Pro ranks. Those hard teams of old do hit the sole better though. its a dog fight at the top.
6 Go to commentsCan someone fill me in please, I've read a number of Ben Smith articles now and it seems he's got something again South Africa? Surely, this game was over and done with 7 months ago. Can't we have something a bit more interesting and relevant, or is this the calibre of journalist on this site?
228 Go to commentsNot sure what the Welsh are moaning about. They’ve had far more players off England, than England have had off Wales. Guys like Josh Hathaway and Kane James will play for Wales in the end. And they’ll be fsr better players for having played in the Gallagher Premiership, than they ever would have been had they stayed mired in the shambles that is Welsh rugby.
4 Go to commentsThis is all being blown totally out of proportion. First of all, since half the Irish team isn’t Irish - it’s very likely that none of the Irish players said that at all and, thus, we’re not being arrogant. Second, since half the Irish team is Kiwi - it’s very likely the Kiwi players were predicting a NZ SA World Cup final. Which they got spot on. Good on them!
163 Go to commentsAha. An Irishman with logic! Follow the flow: - Ireland peaks with a >80% win record between 2020 and 2023. And then… - crashes out of another QF at the WC; - Beat a poor French Team; - Beat 6N wooden spoonists Italy; - Play shite against eventual wooden spoonists Wales; - Lose against the most boring, “the worst English team ever” , a team widely regarded as unable to attack; - scrape through against Scotland. This article, No - Trimble, is on the money! Except for one glaring statement: _The Springboks have a few aces in the hole in this debate being the reigning world champions and official world number ones_ There is no debate, boys and girls. There it is. In black and white. “Reigning World Champions and OFFICIAL world number ones”. Come July, the overrated Andy Farrell and this overhyped team are going to enter into a world of hurt.
87 Go to commentsI’d like to know what homoerotic events Daniel enjoyed at 8th man. I clearly missed out!
19 Go to commentsThis article is missing some detail, like some actual context or info about what led to him abusing the ref.
2 Go to comments*They used to say that football is a gentleman sport watched by hooligans and rugby is a hooligan sport watched by gentlemen. How times have changed.*
3 Go to commentsexcept ot wasnt late wasnt late at all so dont know why you all saying its late he commits early and its your fault fir not paying attention
30 Go to commentsNot sure the Bulls need another average utility back in their ranks. Chamberlain has been ok for the Sharks but is by no means an X-Factor player. Bulls bought several utility backs which they barely use. A typical example would be Henry Immelman who plays mostly Fullback. The Bulls however have rarely played him this year and he has played wing or centre. Bulls want to build depth but seems like they have too many surplus players
1 Go to commentsABs lost against a side playing without a hooker - The guy playing, had one shoulder. Line outs were a gimme for the ABs, and the last 8 minutes 14 played 14 against a team that had been smashed 3 weeks in a row… Yet with all that possession, with all that territory, with all the advantages they actually had, especially in the last 8 minutes, they couldn’t buy a point. Those last 8 minutes determined if they outplayed the Boks or not. History will show that the Boks completely outplayed the ABs, especially in those last 8 minutes, the business end of any rugby match
228 Go to comments