Wallabies not bothered by obvious Eddie Jones subplot

Ahead of their Test clash with Japan, Harry Wilson holds no grudges against their coach Eddie Jones with the Wallabies skipper saying his omission from the 2023 Rugby World Cup squad was a turning point for his career.

The Wallabies are assembling in Tokyo where they will face the Brave Blossoms next Saturday at the National Stadium before finishing a mammoth year with four Tests in Europe.

Wilson was overlooked by Jones for the last World Cup in France, where the Wallabies sank to an historic low with a pool round exit.

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Since then Jones left Australia for a second stint as Japan coach, while 25-year-old Wilson has been elevated to Wallabies captain and made the No.8 jersey his own.

The Queenslander felt 2023 was a watershed moment for his career and also personally, with the disappointment helping build resilience and also a new appreciation for the Wallabies jersey.

“Obviously it was extremely disappointing that year for myself personally but for me it probably was a year where I grew a lot as a football player and as a person,” Wilson told reporters before their departure from Sydney.

“It’s really helped me over the last couple of years, the learnings you take from that year, I guess to never feel comfortable in a jersey or in a squad because you know how easily it can get taken away from you.

“So when you’re in these squads you definitely don’t take it for granted and you learn every bit about being a part of it.”

Wilson said that while there were current Wallabies who were part of Jones’s disastrous World Cup campaign, including playmaker Carter Gordon who has returned to rugby after a brief NRL stint, the veteran coach wasn’t a focus.

“A lot of us haven’t played over there and Japan are a really good opposition, they’ve been playing really well.

“It’s a bit of a reunion for a fair few of the boys but we’re definitely not focusing on the fact that Eddie Jones is the coach.

“You want to win every Test match and I’m sure a few of the boys would definitely love it, but we’re very focused on ourselves and making sure we go over there and do the job.”

There will be a reunion for Wilson with Japan backrower Ben Gunter, with the pair both growing up in Gunnedah in country NSW. Jack Cornelsen, Sam Greene and Dylan Riley are also Australian-born players in the Japan squad.

“When I was young, Benny used to always jump in the car with us and my dad was the coach so he would drive us to training and now, potentially getting to verse him on the world stage is really cool,” Wilson said.

Last year’s tour was a breakthrough for the Wallabies, headlined by their first win over England at Twickenham since 2015.

Wilson said they had built confidence since then that they could go back to back.

“Obviously now as a group we’ve got the experience over there and even the whole British Irish Lions tour, we now know all those players really well, he said.

“Last year was a bit of an unknown for a lot of us … there’s a lot of games over there which we’re really excited for and we have a lot of confidence in ourselves to go there and do the job.”