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Mind games or not, the Wallabies’ decision to wear casual clothing during their first camp under Eddie Jones was an embarrassment.
What should have been a joyful occasion for the 36 players present, including newcomer Max Jorgensen, who chose rugby over the NRL, was shameful.
Instead of opening a bag with Wallabies training kit, they got sweet stuff all.
As a result, Jorgensen was photographed wearing an Adidas training top.
Wallabies coach Eddie Jones talks with Max Jorgensen. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
The Wallabies’ sponsors Asics, who had representatives at the training camp, would have been gobsmacked to see their apparel rivals promoted across newspapers and the internet with Rugby Australia’s best young talent.
Worse still, Taniela Tupou, the face of Australian rugby and the current most expensive player after his new multi-million dollar deal, wore a Dolphins jersey on the first day.
In this new Code War era, it was a free hit for the NRL.
Rather than the Wallabies’ proud logo being on show, the game’s most marketable player was wearing a rival jersey. He should have been sent back to his expensive hotel room and asked to put on a different shirt.
Taniela Tupou during an Australia Wallabies training camp at Sanctuary Cove. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
One senior Rugby Australia figure described it as a “clusterf–k”.
Wallabies management naturally downplayed it, before saying it wasn’t an official training camp, the new 2023 kit was not yet available, particularly with the squad to change considerably by the time The Rugby Championship arrives, and Jones was trying to get the message across that nothing had been earned.
One or all of those things might be true (and plenty of excuses are being put out there), but there are plenty of local under-5s teams who get a training kit. While players were told not to bring their Super Rugby uniforms, surely they could have worn their club uniforms.
After all, isn’t the game’s grassroots in desperate need of support?
Instead, the once-proud Wallabies looked like a squad of randoms playing park footy.
That’s all good for Jones’ desire to keep the Wallabies’ mentality in check, but in a World Cup year it was a bizarre look and one that was at odds with Australian rugby’s insistence that the Eddie Jones era is, indeed, a reset.
Already Australia’s Super Rugby sides are struggling for attention.
Their dire results, with the exception of the consistent Brumbies, have meant most mainstream media have turned a blind eye to Australian rugby.
It’s why the Wallabies’ decision to wear casual clothes was even more dumbfounding.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.