With the Wallabies camped out on the Gold Coast, England coach Eddie Jones has been left to beat the drum for the third Test in Sydney and to his own educated eye the buildup to a massive decider is not going too well.
“I’ve been disappointed in the media coverage,” said Jones at a press conference to announce his team in his old stomping ground of Coogee Beach on Thursday.
“I try to watch the news every morning. And there’s nothing on it about rugby at all. As a person that grew up with rugby here that’s disappointing. We need rugby to be strong sport and World Rugby needs Australia to be a strong rugby country.
“There’s always a battle with NRL and AFL isn’t it? We know that. We need rugby to be bit more prominent. So I think we’re doing our bit. I’ve been charity lunch today going out to coach in the community tonight. We’re trying to build the game up – a 1-1 decider. There’s got to be equal effort from the other team too.”
Asked if the Wallabies, who were due to fly in for the game later Thursday, sticking to a strategy designed to mirror a World Cup travel plan, should have been doing more, Jones responded: “That’s not for me to judge. You can judge that.”
Jones is trying his best, and he tapped into some big Australian themes as he looked ahead to a match at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in all likelihood the last time rugby will be played at the famous old ground.
“It’s a famous old ground and I’ve got great memories going out and watching Souths play used to watch third grade, at midday, second grade then first grade – the great old days of Souths, and watching many a Ashes Test series.
“I was out there when [John] Snow knocked out [Terry] Jenner and there was obviously the bit of discourse going on between the fans and John Snow.
“And I was watching when Ian Chappell strode on for his first time as Australian captain. That’s how we want to play on Saturday, like Ian Chappell did walk on the the field and own it. Play with plenty of purpose, play with plenty of energy, play together and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
Jones met Chappell in the early 2000s. The cricketer was a famous hater of everything Pommie – especially Ian Botham – so he’s a strange role model for the leader of an English touring team.
“The way he approached his teams, building his teams, building the strength of the relationship in the teams, being tough, is something I’ve always admired about what he did with teams and I’ve always tried to do that with my teams,” said Jones.
This week at Coogee Oval and the surrounding suburbs, Jones has had plenty of old mates drop by, including Wallabies No.7 great Simon Poidevin, who has been chatting to the England players.
“The younger players don’t know who he is – they just see some old guy with a dog. A pretty fit old guy with a dog,” joked Jones.
“But he’s chatted to a few of our players and we had almost a traditional Randwick barbecue yesterday. The only thing that was missing was the old beers.
“That was good fun. It’s been a really good week for the players. They’ve trained hard, recovered well. Had a bit of history of the Randwick club.
“We’ve got a group going out following this with myself out to the club and doing a bit of training with the young kids.
England coach Eddie Jones arrives for an England squad training session at Coogee Oval on July 12, 2022 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Evans – RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)
“We’ve tried to involve ourselves in the community and we feel we feel good about where we’re at. We’re really looking forward to this game.”
Jones also reflected on the previous night’s incredible State of Origin battle and how his team would aim to reach a similar level of fire as the Blues and Maroons showed at Suncorp.
“What I enjoyed was the intensity they played that,” he said. “It’s a classic, you’ve got New South Wales, the strongest team that won the last game easily.
“They know what Queensland is going to bring. All the narrative about the game is ‘Queensland are underdogs’. But this is when they’re at their best – 50,000 Queenslanders full of XXXX, cheering.
“If it goes to form New South Wales wins. But that’s the great thing about sport that you’ve got this Queensland team missing Munster, missing Tualagi. We’re missing a Tualagi, missing a Munster, the equivalent is Maro Itoje.
“We’re in that similar situation of whether we can find the right balance of aggression and control. Being fierce and being calm is a challenge for us. We’ve got a young inexperienced team but that’s a great challenge and a great opportunity.”
Jay M
Guest
Sorry Paul D, it seems your so desrperate to knock RL, knowing that it was a great game and most people agree, that you attack it for somthing that is a problem with all contact sports, and try to pretend that Rugby League is any worse. The fact that they have been clamping down on such behaviour over the last 10 years or so seems to escape you. Unless you get rid of the Class (private school) devide in Australia in RU and make it actually entertaining, no amount of RU pretending they care more about matters such as this is going to save the code from the downward sprial they face in AUS. And as for fighting in RU, if Peter FitzSimons gets knocked on his arse a couple of time in a game, how bad can it be ;).
Tim J
Roar Rookie
Oh the modesty Paul.. :silly: :thumbup:
Busted Fullback
Roar Rookie
It seems so. Go directly to office. Do not stop at Rugby. Do not collect 200 word report.
Dustyboots
Guest
You do realise that back in the day Bondi through to La Perouse (Coogee, Randwick, Maroubra etc) were heavily working class and some of the poorest areas of Sydney. Not now of course but definitely up until the 80’s.
FunBus
Roar Rookie
If the NRL are being complacent about head injuries they've got the balance very, very wrong. Apart from the most important human aspect, the NFL in the US are facing major legal problems. Union noticed this a couple of years back and recognise the scale of the potential legal actions could destroy the game. There again, I don't think League has ever bee accused of thinking about things too much, have they?
FunBus
Roar Rookie
Don't worry, mate. I' not 'worried' by it all all. It's all good fun.
Reframe
Roar Rookie
Paul D, Never a truer word said. Recognizing the issue may provide you the direction for help. :laughing: I jest of course.
Reframe
Roar Rookie
Funbus As you have just witnessed there are people no matter where you go in the world that just believe they are special. And so they are just that ... special. Don't worry about it and really you don't have to satisfy or justify their requirements to be a "sports fan".
Reframe
Roar Rookie
:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:
Hugh_96
Roar Pro
I do agree with Eddie, Rugby AU doesn't appear to be doing much on the PR/Media side of things to promote the England series or rugby more generally. Then again they mightn't have the resources. Do wonder if they got Rebels players Reece Hodge or Matt Phillip who are in the team to chat to a Melb radio station or at least Andrew Kellaway this week
Khun Phil
Roar Rookie
Appreciate your comments,FB,and fully understand that you may not be league fan.You are lucky that you can follow baseball and NFL,which are 2 sports I have never been into.If I lived in the USA,that would probably change.It's a bit like AFL,which I never had much time for,being born and bred in Sydney,until my work took me to live in Melbourne where it is a religion.I then found that viewing matches live with 90,000 people at the MCG,was very different to watching it on TV. Rugby is still my favourite,but I get upset at rugby fans who seem to have this condescending view of league as a game for morons,which is just not the case.There are a lot of boring league games,but that applies equally to rugby and most sports.
FunBus
Roar Rookie
My comment was a little tongue in cheek, but I don’t find rugby league anywhere near as nuanced or interesting as Union. I’ll watch the occasional international where I’ve got a dog in the fight, but it’s a little too one-dimensional for me (and seemingly virtually all of the rest of the world where it has never taken off as a global game). It’s still more ‘interesting’ than that Godawful ‘Aussie rules’ which is like watching paint dry. Regarding my status as a proper ‘sports fan’ having lived in a number of different countries, including the States, I’m familiar and enjoy a very wide range of sports. For example, I’m into, and know quite a lot about, baseball and NFL, but only developed a passing interest in basketball and ice hockey during my time in the States. There seems to be a deep insecurity amongst league fans, who jump on a rugby union site at the drop of a hat to tell everyone how rubbish union is, but get very defensive when told how impervious the world is to the ‘charms’ of league.
The Crow Flies Backwards
Roar Rookie
Hope he cleaned up after his dog
The Crow Flies Backwards
Roar Rookie
Do they report on games of Monopoly?
Reframe
Roar Rookie
Double Agent, He could have just walked away but he didn't so let's just say happy coincidence.
Tim J
Roar Rookie
:thumbup:
Barney
Roar Rookie
In the battle of hearts and minds Rugby should be better promoted in Australia for sure. A ton of factors drive popularity, but we’ve been historically top 5 or 6 in the world (save for the last few years) of a truly international game which should be better celebrated. A very quick and dirty look at men’s rankings of other international sports we compete in (in no certain order): Cricket 1 Soccer 39 Tennis (Davis Cup) 15 League 4 (!?!??) Rugby 6 Speaking of Murdoch press, gotta love how the nav on Foxsports.com.au has Netball; UFC; and Boxing rounding out the sports options to choose from and only when you click on “More”, can you get to Rugby which is behind Golf; NHL; NFL; Tennis and Basketball. Nothing against any of those sports and it’s all apples and oranges sure but…..
JC
Roar Rookie
Mirt, Georgina Robinson confirmed it was a conscious decision by RA to put high performance before marketing by keeping the Wallabies out of the limelight. Put them in Jones' orbit for a few days and the barbs become very distracting. You could tell how frustrated he was in Perth with no one to jab at, so I think it's been a good decision. Hopefully, the Wallabies' performance tomorrow confirms that, and gives the game the boost it needs here.
Khun Phil
Roar Rookie
But Paul,at least the 3 players with HIA did not come back on the field like sometimes happens in both codes.
Khun Phil
Roar Rookie
FB,obviously you didn't watch the game or you may have learnt something.I love rugby,but if you didn't appreciate the intensity in that game the other night,then I doubt if you can call yourself a sports fan.You don't need to follow a sport to appreciate it when you see a special event.