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Opinion

Eddie Jones is back and he has a dream run - for a while

Roar Rookie
16th January, 2023
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Roar Rookie
16th January, 2023
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Eddie Jones returning to Australian rugby is a double-edge sword, but two things are certain: Rugby in Australia will get more media exposure and it won’t matter how Eddie performs in the 2023 World Cup.

RA and Jones have plenty to fall back on if the Wallabies fail in France, which most expect.

Excuses could be rolled out, with eight months to prepare. Having said that, as coaches go, Jones has more international coaching experience than any other person in the current system.

It’s something that doesn’t sit well with me, at first read, but Jones is definitely a better coach than Dave Rennie, from a national perspective.

Rennie has certainly done a good job at creating depth and handing Jones a stronger player group, but some of his selections were strange to say the least.

Jones has five years to make this all click. Finding a good fly-half and fullback are crucial but he can get more out of the players and reduce the ridiculous penalties, which Rennie struggled with.

But can the players keep up to his standards? That is for another day.

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Jones is, by far, the best Australian-born coach available and RA should be commended for this, brash, ballet decision.

Having said that, they will also need to stand by their decision and back Eddie for the full five-year tenure.

Jones will not have the luxury of the ‘judge me on the World Cup results’, as he also has a Lions tour to contend with.

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Regardless, we should back Eddie Jones. He has made two World Cup finals and was part of a winning one in a lesser role for South Africa.

He desperately wants to win a World Cup and he has a shot at two for the first time.

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2023 can have excuses, but it’s probably his best shot given he may burn everyone out by 2027.

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