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Eddie Jones entering tug-of-war over England attack guru

By Chris Jones
Scott Wisemantel

Eddie Jones is facing a battle with new Australian head coach Dave Rennie to hold onto attack specialist Scott Wisemantel, who has proved to be a key member of his England management team.

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Wisemantel was brought in by Jones, the England head coach, in May 2018 to help with the team’s attacking play and helped guide them into the Rugby World Cup final where they lost to South Africa in Japan.

His contract ended after the tournament finished and the popular former rugby league player returned to Australia to continue teaching. RugbyPass understands the Rugby Football Union are unaware of any move for Wisemantel by the ARU.

Before the final, Wisemantel confirmed that a discussion with Jones would be his top priority, however, Scott Johnson, the Australian Rugby Union director of rugby, has made it clear he wants to give Rennie a group of Aussie coaches to support his new regime following the departure of Michael Cheika after the World Cup.

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Current Wallaby attack coach Shaun Berne, defence coach Nathan Grey, forwards coach Simon Raiwalui and skills coach Mick Byrne, are all contracted to the ARU until the end of the year.

Wisemantel discussed his immediate future in Japan stating: “I’m a consultant here until November 2. On November 6 I’m a school-teacher, I’m a casual teacher. That’s what I do. I go home and I’m a casual teacher, I might teach agriculture, I might teach music, I don’t know what I’ve got. That’s it for the short term. So after that I don’t know. But the one bloke I will sit down and have a chat to is Eddie Jones and we’ll chat after that.”

During the World Cup, England and Leicester outside half George Ford paid tribute to Wisemantel’s input during his time with England.

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Ford said: “You can see since Wisey’s come in, the variety of our game. In terms of different ways in which we can attack, it’s gone through the roof. It’s a game, rugby union, where you need to be able to have the ability to run, to shift the ball via passing and you need to have a kicking game as well.

“I think for me as a fly-half and I’m sure the rest of the team and the backs would agree with this, that the way we train and what Wisey pushes each week has put us in a position where we can do all three of those things.

“And then it’s about us making decisions on the field to do it, and that is what Wisey and the coaches are brilliant at, putting us in position and situations in training to make those decisions. The amount of tries the back three have scored, the wingers have scored recently, whether that is through passing or kicking, speaks for itself. We massively enjoy working with Wisey and the rest of the coaches.”

The Season 5 – Episode 3

A changing room reminder about team values and expectations encourages the squad to train with consistency but mistakes start to creep in.

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j
john 22 minutes ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 2 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

13 Go to comments
T
Trevor 5 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 9 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

29 Go to comments
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