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Eddie Jones’ big Wallaby regret was in his corner again on Friday as the team rounded off a training camp ahead of Sunday’s selection of the 33-man squad for the opening two Tests of the Rugby Championship.
Rugby league legend Andrew Johns cast aside his disappointment over the NSW Blues’ State of Origin flop midweek by joining Jones at Coogee Oval.
Johns ran a playmaking clinic for the Wallabies halves – with Carter Gordon and Bernard Foley among those who seemed to be hanging on every word from the league Immortal. Quade Cooper, considered the front runner for the No.10 jersey at the World Cup, was missing due to a wedding commitment.
“We have known Andrew a long time and his ability to teach the nuances of first receiver play is second to none, and to have him down here, particularly for a such a young guy like Carter is a great learning experience,” said Jones, who has a well-documented respect for rugby league and its coaches.
Also well known is that Jones tried to lure Johns to rugby union in his previous stint as coach, only to be rebuffed by the board in 2005.
“We had him mate but the board wouldn’t approve the contract,” Jones said on Friday. “We’ve got the statute up for him in the Immortals.”
Andrew Johns talks to Bernard Foley and Carter Gordon at Wallabies training. Julius Dimataga/RugbyAU Media)
Jones was asked if the “rugby types” knew just how good Johns had been as a league player.
“He is probably telling them, mate,” Jones joked.
He agreed that Johns could help with mindset as well as skill set, while adding a little dig at his sometime sparring partner Peter V’landys, the ARL boss who Jones previously referred to as “the horse guy”.
“There is a little bit of that. Definitely. We should get the CEO down here, the chairman down here … what’s his name?” said Jones.
“That’s the great thing about sport in Australia though isn’t it? We have this competitive tension but we also have great co-operation.”
Johns helped Jones out in 2016 at the same venue, when the coach was leading England to a 3-0 series win Down Under.
Jones, who has another former Blues Origin player as part of his staff in Brett Hodgson, talked up the impact of league coaches on The Roar Rugby Podcast this week.
Andrew Johns gives some advice to Bernard Foley. (Photo by Julius Dimataga/RugbyAU Media)
“The best people to learn from are usually the rugby league coaches because you take away the contest that we have on the ground and obviously scrum and line out and kickoff, then our phase attack and their phase defence, whilst it’s not identical, has similar ideas about how you manipulate defence and how defence stops the attack. So I’ve been lucky enough to learn from a number of good rugby league coaches,” Jones said.
As for further involvment from Johns – who some have touted as a potential Blues coach, Jones said: “It is not really something we have planned. It is just something when there is an opportunity to mix, we will. If we feel there is someone from rugby league who can help us … I certainly don’t have any discrimination against the sport.”
Another visitor to the camp this week was Wallabies coaching legend Bob Dwyer.
“Bob came in on Monday. Run straight, short passes is the consistent message, and he is right. 100 per cent right.”
Johns meanwhile was asked to chat about his training session and wasn’t keen to go into detail – but he had a cheeky message for the Wallabies coach.
“Eddie owes me a favour, ” he laughed.