‘The best I’ve seen’: Eddie Jones itching for Wallabies to prove critics wrong

Coach Eddie Jones is itching for the Wallabies to “show the world what we can do” when they run out onto the biggest stage in rugby next month.

Speaking from Sydney International Airport, a typically charismatic Jones sent a loud and clear message to any critics ahead of the Wallabies’ flight to Europe on Thursday.

The Wallabies have lost four Tests in as many starts under coach Jones, and are potentially 80 minutes away from a fifth defeat on the bounce.

Australia have one more Test to play before their Rugby World Cup opener next month, and it’s a tough one. The Wallabies will take on tournament hosts France in Paris in just over a week.

Many fans from around the rugby world have cast the Wallabies aside as nothing more than a pretender ahead of the World Cup. They’ve shown potential, sure, but rugby is about results.

If winning is a habit, then the Wallabies have to get it right – and soon. No team has ever won a World Cup without winning a Test, but coach Jones isn’t panicking just yet.

“More confident, mate, more confident,” Jones told reporters. “I think we’ve got the right squad now, we’ve got the right balance of energy, enthusiasm. We’ve got youth on our side.

“We’re ready to go. Much more confident.”

The Wallabies have named a youthful 33-man squad for the tournament, with veterans Quade Cooper and Michael Hooper sensationally omitted from the team.

Rising star Carter Gordon has been picked as the sole flyhalf in the squad, while utility Ben Donaldson will likely play a backup role off the bench.

There are only eight players in the squad who have been to a World Cup before. That’s just under 25 per cent. It’s a simply astonishing stat, but it also presents the Wallabies with an opportunity.

“None of you guys think we can do any good, so that’s alright,” Jones added. “The challenge for us as a group is to show you that we can, show ourselves that we can.

“It’s just a great image for Australian rugby that a young team is ready to take on the world.

“I enjoy it, mate, I enjoy it when people say you can’t do it, and I think the team’s starting to get a real taste for it.

“Yesterday our training was the best I’ve seen, the best I’ve seen by a mile, and that’s on the back of four hard days in Darwin.

“The boys are ready to go, we’re ready to show the world what we can do.”