Eddie Jones’ return to the Wallabies fold has been greeted with a wide variety of opinion in the UK as he leaves behind the drama of his stint coaching England to reinvigorate his homeland’s World Cup chances.
While some in the English media were happy to see him go and believe Steve Borthwick will do a better job at this year’s World Cup, it’s clear the Jones narrative will still burn strongly in the UK.
The possibility of Jones leading a Wallabies team into battle against England in the World Cup quarters is also a scenario which will create plenty of debate over the next eight months in the lead-up to the showpiece event.
The Telegraph’s chief sports writer Oliver Brown predicted Jones would give England a hellish reminder of what they have lost.
Coach Eddie Jones gives a smile during the England Rugby squad captain’s run at Suncorp Stadium on July 08, 2022 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
“The nightmare for England might only just be beginning. If there is one constant in his career, it is that he loves nothing better than to rub his tormentors’ faces in the dirt,” he wrote while laying out the pathway for the Wallabies to square off against England in the World Cup quarter-finals in Paris this year.
“Jones is seldom more dangerous than when he makes it personal.
“Homecomings do not come any more piquant, or more laced with intrigue. For the RFU, it could yet be a hellish reminder of what they have lost.”
One former England international Ugo Monye was even left joking – at least, it sounded as if he was joking – that Eddie had plotted this scenario all along over the last 12 months of his ailing reign at HQ.
“Did he sack Dave Rennie by taking England down there (to Australia) in the summer and winning that series?” laughed Monye on the BBC Rugby Podcast.
“This is his masterplan – he’s got a seven-figure pay-off, he’s got Australia, he’s sacked Dave Rennie!”
The Guardian‘s Robert Kitson painted the scenario: “Imagine if the Wallabies end up facing England in the knockout stages of this year’s Rugby World Cup? And beating them.
“The RFU’s decision to sack Jones last month would go down as one of the all-time great corporate howlers.”
Owen Slot, writing for The Times, claimed Jones’ return to Australia would end in tears after an initial spike.
“Now that Jones is back in Wallaby green and gold, this World Cup is also, of course, an extended Eddie referendum.
“It’s a case study in his coaching, in his strengths and weaknesses, his World Cup winnability. And so it is also, therefore, an examination of the RFU and its ability to understand talent, its acumen in hiring and firing.”
Slot believes the RFU should have put a non-compete clause in its payout for Jones’ contract so he didn’t come up against them in the international arena in 2023.
“Some nervous Englishmen are asking: when the RFU rewarded Jones with that weighty severance package, why wasn’t there a non-compete clause in there too?
“The governing body said that, from ‘legal and moral perspectives’, it would have been ‘unreasonable’ to place restrictions on Jones. But if he had been given just a year’s gardening leave, he could have kept his earning up in club rugby.
“Jones will give the Wallabies a bounce. He will shake them up, re-invigorate, re-inspire, he will simplify the message, build momentum and then apply his brilliant coaching brain to the task ahead — the World Cup — and plot something smart. That’s his thing.
“What he has never done after building a winning team is to sustain their success. He does coaching, not culture; he builds successful campaigns, he doesn’t build empires.
“What is really intriguing is how long the Eddie bounce lasts. Or, to put it another way, that loaded gun that Rugby Australia has in its mouth — how long until it goes bang?
(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
“For what it’s worth, I think Australia will get a bounce with Jones and England will get a bounce without him, but England will bounce higher because they happen to have better players. And then Jones will go and coach someone else.”
BBC rugby union correspondent Chris Jones said the 62-year-old needed to do a quick fix in order to get the Wallabies firing in time for the World Cup.
“Jones will bring with him his customary confidence, experience, and controversy,” he wrote.
“Having previously said a team can need up to eight years to become a World Cup-winning force, he now says he can manage it in a matter of months.”
Alex Lowe in The Times was happy to see Jones’ return help rugby boost its flagging profile Down Under.
“Rugby has lost a lot of ground in a crowded Australian sports marketplace since 2003. It was striking how little media coverage there was during England’s summer tour. Fan engagement was at an all time low,” he wrote.
“News organisations without television rights have been reluctant to publish articles on the sport. Jones’s appointment will immediately lift the sport’s profile, which is critical given RA’s bid to host the 2027 World Cup was founded on a promise to grow rugby union.”
Ben Coles in The Telegraph said that Jones’ presence would spice up the British & Irish Lions tour in 2025.
“Jones’ return is a blockbuster move at a time when the game in Australia could welcome a jolt. Who knows what shape the Wallabies will be in by the time Australia face Warren Gatland’s Wales in that crunch Pool C game in Marseille later this year,” he wrote.
“But give Jones another couple of years rebuilding and honing a crop of young players who have plenty of promise but are yet to fully deliver, and suddenly a Lions series which initially underwhelmed in comparison to the prospect of facing the All Blacks or Springboks becomes far more intriguing.”
Wizz
Roar Rookie
Not buying into this we have alot of work to do We took second string team to Europe after torrid season and went within whisker if beating top two teams in world at home.Yes of course we need to keep working hard we are Aussies that's what we do but we are well positioned .
Bentnuc
Roar Pro
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Bentnuc
Roar Pro
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Bentnuc
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Cannonball
Roar Rookie
I was just in the colts team and pretty new to rugby. I remember him having a race with the 1st grade winger after training one night and he lost by a nose. Quick for a big man… Also recall the ABs visiting our club when on tour to play WA (before WA got proper internationals). Amazing experience set up by him and JJ senior. Good men, both, and a great experience for a young Perth teenager!
gurusculler
Roar Rookie
Only got picked because his Dad was the coach. Kidding! He was, what, 16 when he was playing 1st grade, at a time when games were still very much ‘old school’ in terms of confrontation, & he still stood head & shoulders above all the ‘grown-ups’ around him. Of course you can claim him.
Twjaxon
Guest
Age isn’t everything , look at Wayne Bennett
James in NZ
Roar Rookie
If your apprehension is on choosing the superficial quick fix over developing the roots. That’s fair. There’s so much more pressure on the Oz rugby in your domestic market compared to us, but then we both get the ever increasing global pull too. I must admit part of EJ’s appeal for me is the nostalgia member berries. Another league tidbit just randomly bumped into, EJ is credited for discovering legendary flanker George Smith at a Manly Sea Eagles trial?! Good luck mate, hope it goes well.
FunBus
Roar Rookie
Yes, everyone in England were absolutely certain they were going to win the RWC in 2015, and are even more certain they're going to win in 2023...sigh.
Cannonball
Roar Rookie
JJ was one tough RooDog number 8. Not many people know that he played in Perth for the Wanneroo Club before the ABs. Can we claim him?
Noodles
Roar Rookie
I think he does actually. Worries me that RA also has a thing about marquee players rather than hone grown. If you look at World Cup wining trams ours were teams of rugby pathways schooled players. It would be tragic if we ignore that.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
Cannot agree more . I'm 62 years old . Same age as Eddie coincidentally . By 2027 he will be 67 years old in a sport which technically is evolving rapidly . . It does become more difficult with age to make adjustments to decades old habits and thinking . Its a very valid point you make .
AJ
Guest
I worry about the generation gap. Look at Justin Langer and the cricket team...feel free to correct me because I'm just a GenX, but the current generation don't seem to respect or respond to a fire and brimstone approach.
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
A question ? ..Who has emerged the better out of this saga…England or Australia ? Rennie seemed to be heading in the right direction but unfortunately results matter . A year from hell for him . Not only had to contend with a horrific injury list , lost his talisman captain for a long period too . Some of those losses genuinely could have gone either way and had to contend with the added rising powers of France and Ireland in an increasingly competitive Rugby World . I set nothing by the Italy loss . it happens ..But I’m afraid his bosses did . Jones however also discovered results matter yet he wasn’t handicapped with losing player resources like Rennie was. Did however also have the added burden of a rising France and Ireland ..Scotland also improving . So Aus replaced a poor results coach with a poor results coach . I didn’t know much about Borthwick as I don’t closely follow Premiership rugby but he is on fire recent past at Club level. Watched an interview yesterday and like what I’m seeing . Comes across very impressively . Also bothered , yes , as an opposition fan . He values experience and looks like a man that 100% backs his players . Loyalty matters too .Shades of Rassie Erasmus . Yes I think England fans should sleep more comfortably than Aussie ones right now.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Clearly haven’t been reading my comments peanut
KingofKings
Guest
Back all of a sudden TWAS ? Are you sensing an opportunity to shake a few coins from RA, perhaps reinstating you as their social media parakeet ? :laughing: Good luck :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:
James in NZ
Roar Rookie
A reservation I may have had for Eddie is his penchant for league and leaguies. But then looking at his time with England (skimming over 6N squads), I only see Ben Te'o & Denny Solomona leaping out at me (I thought Anthony Watson for some reason, probably because of his infamous interaction with SBW, but nope). So maybe that's more past reputation than fact. Just as an aside I wondered if (back in the day )John Muggleton was a Eddie innovation, no there too (McQueen in 1998). I forget that Eddie was HC with England since 2016, so he had a spell there hey.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Tough ask getting any team to weaken themselves to strengthen their opponents
AJ
Guest
He can start by trying to get some value out of wasted resources. For example, I would be trying very hard to free up some surplus NSW playmakers for use by other squads. We simply cannot be having journey men type plodders wasting super rugby spots and then have to chuck an inexperienced 10 into a test cauldron because he couldn't get a game. The same applies to front rowers, probably even more so. He and the Reds should contact Craig Bellamy and get some advice on how they got the best out of Vunivalu. He simply cannot be as poor as he looked late season.
Noodles
Roar Rookie
Nice, James. Not much to disagree on. Though I think WBs have had a lot more depth in past years. Rennie really had very little to begin. Now he has strong players in most positions and in depth. Our pathways are weak, which is why we still have Quade and no one else owning 10. Rennie built a big, effective pack in depth. Most of the backline now has first choice options at home - with Marika and Samu set to come in when available. So, in my book, Rennie did the hard yards. Eddie might come in with magic dust that weans players off neck rolls and other dumb stuff that betrays the pathway flaws. Or he might not. In short, we sacked the bloke who showed real ability to grow a team. We replaced him with a bloke who couldn't convince the RFU - with its depth and his record - that he has anything to add.