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‘Roasting the boys’: What Wallabies coach Eddie Jones is really like
By Finn Morton
Australian duo Mark Nawaqanitawase and Angus Bell have revealed what Wallabies coach Eddie Jones is really like behind closed doors.
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As rugby fans, pundits and journalists, we’ve all heard the stories. Eddie Jones is the coach past players have loved to hate or hate to love, with the rugby guru having a no-nonsense approach to the sport.
Jones is a winner, and expects nothing less, and that’s what’s made the Wallabies’ disastrous losing streak so shocking.
With the World Cup only a few weeks away, Australia are still yet to register a win under their new coach.
But after each and every Test, Jones has walked into the post-game press conference with a smile on his face – and boasts an unwavering sense of confidence too. Jones, 63, believes in his Wallabies.
Following Australia’s heartbreaking 23-20 loss to the All Blacks in Dunedin, two of Jones’ frontline Wallabies have shed light on what the legendary coach is like within the Wallabies’ inner sanctum.
“He’s very good at challenging everyone, and that’s from staff to players,” wing Mark Nawaqanitawase said on YKTR’s Ebbs and Flows.
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“As much as we work hard, he’s very good at motivating us to do it. As much as there’s always a lot of negative stuff there, there’s always a lot of positive reinforcement as well which is good.
“I guess for me personally, he gives a lot of confidence in me to go out there and do what I can for the team. I guess that’s what he’s trying to build.
“Back in the days you’d hear stuff about him but he’s good to be around. He’s actually quite a laugh as well.
“Just at team dinner or even the meetings, he’ll be roasting the boys like in a good way, not in a bad way.
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“He keeps a smile on all the boys’ faces which is good.”
Even when the going gets tough, as it has for the Wallabies this year, Jones doesn’t unleash all his anger, fury and frustration upon his players.
Yes, the training sessions are – by all accounts – gruelling, but Jones truly wants the best for his players.
Watching various Wallabies training sessions during The Rugby Championship, this journalist could see the role that the legendary coach plays within this team.
Whether it was pulling players aside for one-on-one chats during warmups at Brighton Grammar School in Melbourne last month, or the fun that players were having before training in Dunedin, it’s clear that Jones is having a positive impact on team culture.
“His banter’s next level, it’s hilarious,” Wallabies prop Angus Bell added.
“We’ve got this bloke in our team, Blake Schoupp, he’s built like a fridge.
“(Eddie) calls him brick s*******. He calls him that in the media and everything, and then every morning he’s like, ‘How’re you going s********?’ The banter is hilarious.
“He has nicknames for everyone. I was ‘half body’ for a while because I’ve got small legs.”
The Wallabies have revealed their 33-man squad for the upcoming Rugby World Cup in France, and both Nawaqanitawase and Bell have made the cut.
Australia are on the so-called ‘easier’ side of the draw, and open their campaign against minnows Georgia at Stade de France next month.
