'It would be amazing to work with him... if I don't get picked I don't get in a strop'
Former Wasps and England wing Christian Wade has given his take on working with Eddie Jones and the prospect of being coached by Stuart Lancaster again, eight years after he failed to make the cut for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
Wade – who turned 31 over the summer – has returned after a four-year stint in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills as he looks to restart his rugby union career.
Wade is currently plying his trade with Racing 92 in the Top 14, having been recruited as a medical joker after the rugby league convert Regan Grace had a season ended season prior to arriving in Paris.
“I don’t really know Eddie Jones at all to be honest. I think he had me coming to a mini-camp one time for like a week,” Wade told Le French Rugby podcast.
“I can’t really remember it was such so long ago. He’s a bit of a different guy… he’s a different guy. A different dude.
“He’s obviously had some success with England so far. I don’t really watch England games and stuff like that. Last four years so I’ve been away. Prior to that my attention was more on other stuff.”
If he stays in Paris beyond the current season, Wade will be coached by Lancaster again, who is swapping Leinster and Dublin for Racing 92 and Paris next season.
“When I heard the news that he was coming, some guys were like, he won’t want to pick you. It is what it is. Ask any coach… if I don’t get picked I don’t get in a strop about it. I use it to get better. Obviously, I’m not good enough, that’s just kind of how I pushed it. I’m never ‘I’m not good, I’m not going to do this. I just go I’m going to work harder.
“It was rumoured before but now it’s confirmed [Lancaster taking over at Racing 92]. If I’m at Racing, I think it would be amazing to work with him again. I remember, I think it was his first year at Leinster and we went and played them in a semi-final and they beat us, but the way he had brought Leinster back to the top, because they weren’t doing as well before that.
“We used to beat them every year. We had some good contests but I feel like we beat them three out of the four times.
“That year we we went over there they were like a different team. You know he would have been a big reason for that as well. Even if you look at England when Stuart was involved, we were very low in the rankings and when he came we started to see some young players like myself come through.
“He basically birthed the England team that Ed Jones take on that long winning streak. Players like Maro, I remember being in the Saxons squad with him. That was all Stuart.
“It would be very exciting to work with him again. With sport you never know what’s going to happen so we’ll have to wait and see.”
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments