‘Sometimes you go backwards’: Eddie Jones reviews the Wallabies’ new dawn
Coach Eddie Jones is yet to win a Test during his second stint with the Wallabies, with the men and gold falling to an 0-4 record during The Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup.
When Rugby Australia confirmed that Jones would take over as the new Wallabies coach in January, there was a sense of excitement, intrigue and anticipation Down Under.
The Wallabies have struggled for quite some time, but Jones had a history of turning teams around and producing stunning results – especially in the short term.
But things haven’t gone to plan.
Jones has helped breathe new life into Australian rugby union on the back of a reignited rivalry with the NRL, but the results in the Test aren’t there yet. Rugby is, after all, a results-driven business.
After collecting the wooden spoon in The Rugby Championship, the Wallabies raced out to an emphatic lead during a clash with the All Blacks in Dunedin earlier this month.
Tries to Marika Koroibete and Tom Hooper saw Australia race out to a commanding 17-3 lead, and the Dunedin crowd fell silent.
But the All Blacks, as they often do, fought their way back to win a thriller 23-20 at Forsyth Barr Stadium. Replacement Richie Mo’unga was the hero with a last-minute penalty goal from distance.
Ahead of the Wallabies’ final Test before the Rugby World Cup, coach Jones has reflected on the development that the young team has made since that Test in New Zealand.
“The biggest improvement, at this stage, is the mindset and the attitude of the players,” Jones told reporters this week.
“With a new captain, the team obviously operates a little bit differently, and sometimes you go backwards in some areas and you go forwards a little bit in areas.
“What I’ve seen with the squad is they’re enjoying each other’s company.
“We’re just about to start a hard training block so because of the travel we’ve had a recovery period, and certainly all the indications are they’re ready to work hard together for each other.”
Coach Jones swung the axe through his Wallabies’ Rugby Championship squad, with Test veterans Michael Hooper and Quade Cooper failing to make the squad for the World Cup.
Rising star Carter Gordon was picked as the sole flyhalf in the squad, which is nothing short of bold from coach Jones. Gordon, 22, has only played four Tests – and started just two in the No. 10 shirt.
But the biggest surprise – both literally in terms of stature, and figuratively in regard to how unusual this call seemed – was Jones’ decision to appoint another captain.
Towering lock Will Skelton was named the Wallabies captain for the upcoming World Cup – and become the fifth player to be given ‘the C’ under Jones after just four Tests.
“What we were looking for was a leader. Captaincy is important but more a leader to bring the squad together, and Will’s been doing that all his life so he’s had plenty of practice,” Jones added.
“Every team he’s played in, Saracens, La Rochelle. I was lucky enough to coach a number of the players that played with Will and they couldn’t speak highly enough for what he brought to the team.
“We went down to La Rochelle and spoke to Ronan O’Gara about his contribution to the La Rochelle team, so he’s been doing what he’s been doing for the last eight years.
“He’s not a spokesman, he’s a person who thinks about the players, thinks about what’s best for the players, how can we get them to work hard and enjoy each other’s company? He’s doing what he’s doing what he’s good at.”
The Wallabies will look to turn their fortunes around when they take on World Cup hosts France in Paris this weekend.
Comments on RugbyPass
Should have been 0-0 and a message from SR CEO to both teams - “don’t worry about turning up next year”.
3 Go to commentsGreat work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
3 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
3 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
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