‘This wasn’t right’: Eddie Jones doubles down on infamous ‘role models’ jab
With one eye on the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia, former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones has doubled down on his infamous “role models” dig after leaving Michael Hooper out of the World Cup squad.
There was no room for Hooper on the plane to France as the 33-man squad set off with the weight of expectation resting on their shoulders without one of their original Rugby Championship co-captains.
Playmakers Quade Cooper and Bernard Foley were also famously left out, with then-four Test Wallaby Carter Gordon named as the sole fly-half in the group.
The Wallabies were already 0-4 at that stage after collecting the wooden spoon in The Rugby Championship, and they went on to create unwanted history at the sport’s showpiece event with a pool stage exit.
But the worst was yet to come. Much to the surprise of the rugby world, Jones explained the staggering omission of the experienced trio by suggesting they weren’t good “role models.”
That irked fans even more. Hooper was himself a four-time John Eales Medallist and the most capped captain in Wallabies history – while the other two would’ve brought much-needed skill, grace and poise to the World Cup table.
But the man known around the rugby world as ‘Eddie’ has no regrets. It was all about building for the future with Australia set to host the men’s World Cup in 2027.
“Not at all mate, not at all,” Jones told James Graham on The Bye Round Podcast.
“I always think you’re better off making that decision earlier. Sometimes for a coach that means a bit of pain at the start of your tenure.
“I just felt at that time, those players weren’t right for the team.
“It’s a combination of factors: it’s how you play, how you handle yourself off the field, what’s your relationship like with the younger players, are you the role model to develop that talent?
“For older players you’re looking for role models to develop the talent coming through, apart from obviously playing well.
“I just made that decision, ‘Nah, this wasn’t right,’ and we needed to just cut the ties and go forward.”
Every rugby fan has an opinion on Eddie Jones’ stint with the Wallabies – and not many are positive. But in Jones’ defence, the Wallabies needed to change.
Jones “wanted to change the game” after returning to Australia, and many believed the coach both could and would for quite some time. The 63-year-old was seen as Rugby Australia’s savour.
It just didn’t go to plan. Even with an eye to the future, few expected the young Wallabies to struggle so much throughout a difficult 2023 – winning just two of nine Tests.
“There was a couple of things. Firstly I thought, Australia had a barren period for 20 years. We haven’t won the Bledisloe Cup… I wanted to change things,” Jones said.
“I got there, I got to Australia… you work out who’s in the room, you work out, ‘right can I work with this group of players or do I need to change it to go where we need to go’, which is to win a World Cup in 2027.
“2023 was always going to be difficult, mate. I had three days of training before our first game in The Rugby Championship so to change the team that had been eighth or ninth to win that World Cup was always going to be problematic.
“It was about, ‘alright what can I do here to get the best result?’ And that’s not to say we couldn’t win the World Cup but the reality was we needed to build something that could win the World Cup when Australia hosts it in 2027.
“I had a look at the room and felt we’re not going to do it with these guys… I thought we’ve got to do a total rebuild here.
“There’s obviously risk with that… I’d rather set Australia up to be successful in 2027.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Amazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
1 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
1 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
1 Go to commentsCan’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to commentsHarlequins doing their best to do as little damage as possible with all the possession. Looks like they skipped catch and pass drills this week.
7 Go to commentsSeeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
7 Go to commentsGreat wins for the male & female kiwi sides. Ireland not far away..
1 Go to commentsWhy is this dude getting so much coverage? Usually knobs like this get cancelled.
2 Go to commentsWow. What was that? A 3 million word meandering article about what exactly?
2 Go to commentsNice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to commentsSpot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
6 Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
8 Go to commentsGood riddance
1 Go to comments