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Why England World Cup victory could be disastrous for the Wallabies
A World Cup triumph with England would only motivate Eddie Jones to see out his contract and “build a dynasty” rather than return as Wallabies coach, according to Tim Horan.
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Jones’ side will meet South Africa in the final on Saturday, having engineered Australia’s demise in the quarter-finals before a dominant win over New Zealand in the semi-finals.
That run has led to widespread cries for Rugby Australia (RA) to prioritise Jones’ return to replace Michael Cheika as Wallabies coach.
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It is understood RA have contacted Jones to gauge his interest, with the Australian currently contracted to England until 2021.
Horan said, contracted or not, a win on Saturday would give the in-demand coach plenty of reason to remain in Europe.
“I think Australian rugby will look elsewhere,” the Wallabies’ two-time World Cup winner told Fox Sports.
“They definitely will ask Eddie Jones the question, ‘do you want to come back at some stage to Australia and can you break your contract?’
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“But you’d expect if you win this World Cup you go back to England and Eddie Jones will build this dynasty of this England team.”
World Rugby has been accused of mixed messages after reportedly fining England for its counter to New Zealand's haka three days after trumpeting it as "incredible" on its official YouTube channel. #RWC2019 https://t.co/y6vnpcTX6W
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 30, 2019
New Zealander David Rennie was initially tipped to succeed Cheika, while RA are yet to announce the finer details of a review following the side’s quarter-final exit.
Jones’s least successful stint as an international coach came with the Wallabies, where he had a 58 per cent success rate, winning 33 of 57 games.
That tenure included taking the Wallabies to the 2003 World Cup final, he was sacked after a run of losses in 2005 and has since won a World Cup with South Africa as an assistant to Jake White.
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Jones also enjoyed a 73 per cent win rate as Japan’s head coach, including an upset victory over South Africa at the 2015 World Cup.
As England coach he has only lost nine of 49 Tests at a win rate of 80 per cent, with Horan pointing to the side’s relative youth as a decisive carrot.
“They’re still fairly young. (Maro) Itoje is in his early 20s (25), (captain) Owen Farrell about 27 (28). They’ve got a team that can potentially go on to the next World Cup,” he said.
AAP
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