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Eddie Jones and Wallabies to face external review after 'disappointing' World Cup
By AAP
The fate of Wallabies coach Eddie Jones rests on a post World Cup review with Rugby Australia boss Phil Waugh saying the team has failed to make the grade.
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An external review will be held after the tournament following the Wallabies disastrous campaign in France, set to exit the tournament at the pool stage for the first time.
They blew their chance to maintain their tournament record of never missing the play-offs with a humbling 40-6 loss to Wales in Lyon, which saw their world ranking slump to an all-time low of 10.
Waugh said a target of a semi-final berth had been set for Eddie Jones’s men – achievable with a favourable draw that avoided the top four ranked teams before that stage.
But the record loss to Wales, which followed their first World Cup defeat by Fiji, blew those aspirations out of the water.
They face a final pool game against minnows Portugal on Sunday in Saint-Etienne, which on current form they are not certainties to win.
“I’ve always said for a Rugby World Cup and as a leading nation, that getting through to the semi-finals is what we should be aspiring to and anything less than that is not where we want to be,” Waugh said. “Clearly not getting through the quarter finals would be very disappointing, for the game and the public will be disappointed.”
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Long-time skipper Michael Hooper, who Jones axed for the tournament, was a surprise supporter after the Wales defeat, as was George Gregan.
The legendary halfback, who was part of the Wallabies last World Cup triumph in 1999, said RA needed to take a long-term view with Jones rather than just focus on the current results.
“I think Eddie was chosen by RA … not just for this World Cup, but obviously for the ‘golden decade’, with the Lions series and looking to build a Wallaby team that can compete in the 2027 World Cup at home,” Gregan said in commentary on ITV Sport.
“There’s a long history here of under-performance and he’s not just been brought in for this tournament but for the way going forward. So if they were to make a knee jerk reaction and change, there’s no obvious alternative.
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“I’m probably a little bit biased because I know the man. Love him or hate him, the one thing he does is that he’s going to take full responsibility for that.
“He believes in the team and he can see there’s a future but there’s a lot of hard work that needs to occur.
“History shows that not many teams outside the All Blacks, who won back to back in 2011 and 2015, do that. Sometimes, you have to go through pain, have a poor World Cup to learn from it and get better as a group.”
English fans could see the car crash coming with jones.
90% bullshit 10 skill.
Aus rugby should bite the bullet and get rid of him .
The Rfu hung on to him years too long ..
The world needs a strong Australia and the rebuilding starts now
No one will want to work with jones he is the first move on the way back up .
Agree that a short-term mindset is often the problem.
Hire a coach you trust, give them 6 years to build a winning team with a great culture, player depth in every position and a coaching succession plan, and resist the opportunity to expel the coach every second Monday when results are disappointing.
Teams that chop and change their coaching arrangements fail to put down the deep roots you need for sustained success.
A couple of months ago, a French scout came to QLD and took 8 of the best eighteen years olds from public & private schools away on 2 year scholarships. Gone. This was just from SEQ area. A friend in Sydney's son who made NSW Gen Blue, is trialling for Penrith with 48 teams of other boys in U15 age. 48. We watched the GF of Northern NSW region a few weeks ago, it was like watching league. Of which, Titans Academy, Bronco's Academy, and any other academy that see's talent is snapping the boys up. My point being, until the pathways for Juniors is sorted and players from outside of traditional GPS systems are picked or given even chances of advancing, numbers of talented players will continue to drop, leaving gapping holes in years to come. The recent results over the last 2 years between NSW & QLD in development squads should be a concern. The rot is at the top, but the foundations that Rugby is built on for Juniors needs to change or the whole structure will collapse.
The biggest concern is the alledged interview with Japanese Rugby. I can't see any strong rebuttal from Eddie either. The reporter who had the guts to ask the tough question about whether Eddie was committed to '2024' got an answer from Eddie saying 'I am committed to Australian Rugby' which is an out. And for Eddie to then wax lyrical saying he takes 'umbridge' to the line of questioning - welcome to being the first Wallaby coach to not lead your team out of the pool stages, let alone the grand standing which has come from your own mouth for the past 9 months.
Gregan is Eddie's mate and confidant. Surpise surprise. Hooper has turned politician and will regret his remarks. Few experienced players will want to play under Eddie and fewer decent coaches will want to be involved with him. He's poison.
Forget a review - just tell Ed someone else, anyone, will select his team.
He will be in Tokyo quicker than a Japanese chef dices your Wagyu.
What are the chances of a diehard Tah supporter like Waugh, criticizing Eddie for selecting the two worst players in the squad, Tahs Porecki and Donaldson, in the two most important positions in the team ?
The answer is .......zero.
It's a freaking joke.
Just like under Cheika the Tahs are going to drag Australian rugby down to their level.
What is the point of supporting the Wallabies in this situation ? It's just going to be another Tah s....fest
What about Hamish. Surely he is just as culpable.
The whole organisation needs an enema not apologists for AR's failure.