Eddie Jones gets into Springboks gear

I suppose if one were to follow this principle, then if a person coaches a team, they should never be allowed to coach any other sides anywhere.

Relax boys! If the Boks win the RWC it will definately not be because of Eddie. He's not the Bok coach, he'll only be assisting the Coach... Is Eddie a traitor? .... N..E..V..E..R..!!! Hahahahahaha!!

Did the ARU show any loyalty to Eddie Jones..no their "loyalties lie squarely" with the ARU...will the ARU pay Eddies bills in the future? Will they secure him an income and security for his family? Over the past couple of months the ARU through various issues have clearly indicated that modern rugby is more about business than honour. If they didnt want Eddie to help another team before the World cup then they should have secured his services in whatever avenue..but they didnt! So they need to suck it up and learn to be gracious opponents. Instead they shoot themselves in the foot even more by being mean spirited people and pubically berating somebody who gave alot for their country and while the Reds might not have done well he did take the Wallabies as far as a coach could in the 2003 World Cup.... (Players do have to take some responsibilty for the outcomes of the games!) Eddie is proving to be a better person than the mean spirited, insecure and jealous John Connolly, by not making a public personal attacks against John.

Sorry Burgs, .... to answer your question " Hell, why would he leave beautiful WA for the life and times of Wallaby Coach?"... Simple................He wants a cup.

Burgs, I think after this World Cup there will be some massive changes in Australian rugby. Some may argue it has come 3 years too late, but it is long overdue. Come the next 2 years of Aus rugby, we will see new blood like never before, a complete team change by 2009. The caretaker coach and selectors over the next two years will be entrusted with building a team, that come late 2009, will (probably not) be world beaters. There will be signings and sackings like never before, all with 2011 in mind. A perfect time to hand over to (15 months out) to the new fresh outlook of a new coaching staff with a renewed vigour to take out the cup. In my opinion, 4 years is too long for a coach to get his team up season after season for the big games and come world cup time, not sound like a broken record. I believe John Mitchell (irrelevant of current contracts in place) will be the Wallabies coach come the 2011 RWC. Lets face it, Australia (ARU) only really want the Cup, their fans may argue that point, but unfortunately they don't have a say in the matter. NZ is different, they will try and win everything, year in year out. They HAVE to. Because the FANS say so.

Zinny, I think you'll find Mitch is more than happy exactly where he is for as long as he and RugbyWA keep re-newing his contract. Out to 2010 already I recall... Hell, why would he want to leave beautiful WA for the life and times of a Wallaby Coach!? I have no problem with Deanes (in fact I hope he is the only candidate) to Coach the Wallabies. I have no problem with Mitch hypothetically Coaching the Wallabies, apart from the huge loss for the Force. I don't even have a problem if Eddie takes over from Jake, I just have a little bit of a problem with the "cooling off" period. Bit like a relationship really, everyone has different standards as to what the "appropriate" time is to abstain before jumping back in the saddle with the next prospective partner... Someone mentioned that if it had happened after the WC then few would have an issue, I think that is a pretty accurate call for most punters, it was just too soon by their "standards". Crikey, as ordinary as he was, Scott Johnson Coached Wales not so very long ago... Eddie has left a tarnished image in Australia which is a great pity as he is still one of the better Coaches on the International scene, he just needs better PR advice! Good luck with Saracens/Japan/South Africa/???? Eddie.

Ha ha. This will be a great thread to re-read if John Connolly fails at the 2007 RWC. It is no secret that ex-Allblack coach John Mitchell is being groomed (maybe courted is more apt?) for the position of Australian national coach. I get the feeling words like "loyalty" will be old hat and comments like "its a professional era, we are just adapting with the times" will be bandied around. The truly sad part won't be the fact Australians welcome the appoinment with open arms, no, the sadness will indeed lay in Mitchells eagerness to fulfil the position.

ok..final Eddie comments for me... : ) Not that I'm any great supporter of Eddie Jones but how many of us were calling him a genius after that memorable win against the all blacks in the Rugby World Cup Semi Final and subsequent fight back at the Finals against England? I guess thats not the point but geez..now he's a useless coach all of a sudden? It will be interesting discussion after the world cup should Australia's demise be the Bokke... enough said..at least from me : ) lets concentrate on what is to come...36days 17 hours...

One of the biggest mistakes we are making is that we all know what Eddie is capable of , not much in my opinion. However could I suggest that we make this a Eddie free forum for the next 48 hours . This man has had way to many valuable paragraphs written about him , so much more than he deserves We should never ever forget that the Jones Legacy is still with us . Some more healing time is required , in our scrum base alone

I didn't realise Australia had a play book that Eddie could take over to SA??

There is a certain stench of treachery in Jones' decision. He only just left the Reds and was the Wallabies coach not too long ago. Going to a serious competitor in an RWC to help them with RWC preparation shows that Jones is a bit too mercenary. While it is a business, some standards should be expected. How would NZ feel if Graham Henry, having retired from the AB's after the World Cup popped up in Australia to help them in the Bledisloe preparations? As to all the comments about Jones being hard done by in Australia, he brought a lot of it on himself by his demeanour and behaviour. Anyway he left the Reds. He may have been about to be pushed, but it was his decision to leave. That said, the ARU should have anticipated this sort of problem. Restraint of trade clauses are being watered down and their application overseas is problematic, but if this was an issue it should have been built into his contracts at the ARU and QRU. While it looks bad, and Jones can only blame himself if no-one in Australia trusts him again, there is no impediment to him doing so because of the lack of foresight from the ARU and QRU. While it didn't happen under his watch, perhaps JO'N should be looking a little closer to home.

Interesting comment from Dan Retief from www.supersport.co.za "And apart from what he can show the Boks, former school principal Jones will also impart a far more valuable lesson – what he knows about them. The Wallabies have a way of dissecting their opponents. They imagine a team to be a fortress and they set themselves the task of breaking into, or breaking down the fortifications. Where might a team be weak? What undefended weakness can they play on? Jones will be able to tell the Boks what he and the Wallabies thought of them; how they believed they might sack the green-and-gold castle and that might be the most precious piece of wisdom he imparts. "

The one thing we dont want is the distractions of a desperate media in the build up to the world cup and nothing is happening. Jones is a part of our past and unlike Smith he is not terminally ill with a brain tumour. He was my personal dislike most coach of the Wallabies. The stuff about the current coaches clashes and splits in the Wallaby camp are doing us more damage than good. The time for this stuff is after the WC nothing can be done now. Bring on RObbie Deans after the dust has settled and we know how we went. In fact you have to say the media with its focus on refs (Coaches and players as well) and excuses for failure is killing our build up.

Sam, Right...Again! DF6, You're right in a way as well...Who does care? I guess us talking about Eddie is exactly the problem in the first place...

Any publicity is good publicity for O'Neil even if its negative. Rugby is in the spotlight and his book sales are up 28% Is it good for the team and the RWC.... NO!! its all about the money, he made that clear during the tri-nations

who seriously cares where eddie jones is coaching? his track record with the brumbies wallabies and reds show his talent. I feel sorry for SA that they have taken him on board, i see it as a step back losing rassie erasmus and replacing him with jones. Jones can go there and tell all the little secrets about the wallabies but bottom line is he wont be telling them anything they dont already know. Should the wallabies be afraid? no everyone knows how to beat the wallabies, the difference with them and every other team in the world i reckon is that you can go into a game against them and know how to beat them, putting it to practice however is easier said than done, they are a team that can win against the odds. Keep jones in SA it makes the all blacks job of possibly playing them in the final an easier one

Matt I believe that John O"Neill has underestimated the impact the revelations in his book and subsequent comments to the press would have. He is a consumate media performer and is very good at putting rugby in the headlines by being proactive and provocative which is something the understated Gary Flowers wasn't comfortable or adept at. But this time he's got it completely wrong and is sending mixed and confusing messages at a time when the public needs to unite and support the Wallabies. John Connolly and the Wallabies will have to close ranks and ignore these distractions and he'll have to take a more active role in the training sessions to show everyone exactly who's boss.

Temba, Thanks for explaining the "garbage" metaphor for the "cheap seats"...don't know how I got confused in the first place. Sam, Again we agree...the Wallabies ARE in self-destruct mode. There are some very confusing messages coming out of the ARU these days. Contradiction seems to be the norm...Mind you it's not being helped by Greg Growden whose articles seem to resemble gossip columns more than rugby pieces nowadays. I'm struggling to remember the last time the guy wrote anything positive about rugby. As a passionate Wallabies supporter I can't help but wonder what is going on at the ARU...How did it get to this? Since when was rugby in this country about anything else but what happened on the field...I'm getting sick to death of reading about who doesn't like who and how tense the Wallabies staff is. I don't care.

Let O'Neil rant and rave. No one listens to him anyway. He is going on about how he wants to play mid-week games against the AB's and have a Bledisloe game in Hong Kong. What do the Kiwis say in response; no thanks Johnny boy. He is just a big bag of hot whining air and everyone knows that. White has played a masterful stroke getting Jones involved. It has really got the Wallabies all worked up before the World Cup. Lets be honest; the ARU is in turmoil. You have coaches walking out of presentations because they feel they are not credited enough. Well, boo-hoo for you. Dry your eyes and do your job. Anyway, Eddie for Vickerman. Seems like a fair trade wouldn't you say considering Vickerman wouldn't sniff a bok jersey, let alone struggle to get a provincial lookin?

Sam ...your last sentence sums this whole absurd situation perfectly !! I can't believe that less than 2 months out from the start of the RWC the collective ego's of players , coaches and administrators are out of control rather than focussing on the main prize. The code may have turned professional , but in Australia it's still very much an amateur operation !!