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Angus Bell has gone into bat for Eddie Jones, saying the Wallabies not only let the Australian public down but their under-siege coach too.
Despite throwing plenty at the All Blacks, the Wallabies were unable to get any pay for their pressure early in the second half at the MCG as their trans-Tasman rivals rode the storm and then turned defence into attack to ensure the Bledisloe Cup won’t be on Australian shores anytime soon.
The heavy 38-7 loss saw social media, including former England back Andy Goode, erupt as fingers were pointed at Rugby Australia’s leadership who parachuted Jones into the role earlier this year by brutally axing Dave Rennie.
Angus Bell has gone into bat for his under-siege coach Eddie Jones. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images). (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Jones, who said he took “full responsibility” for the defeat and maintained he got selection right, copped plenty of the flak after playing the role of provocateur throughout the past fortnight in an attempt to fill his side with belief and plant some doubt in the minds of his trans-Tasman rivals.
“Eddie Jones has taken the Wallabies backwards quicker than I used to run to the buffet!” Goode tweeted.
“Whoever sacked Dave Rennie at Australian Rugby needs sacking for being inept at their job! #EddieOut.”
The defeat was the third straight under Jones since taking over from Rennie, who was axed by Rugby Australia after managing a win record of just 38 per cent in three years in charge of the Wallabies.
Bell, who was one of the Wallabies’ best during the 31-point loss, said the side was firmly behind Jones after saying on broadcast “we let down Eddie and we let down Australia”.
“Eddie’s a proud Australian and has put a lot of time into us and he cares so much for this time and for the result,” the rising loosehead prop told reporters following the loss.
“You play for your country, you play for your family and you play for your coach.”
Asked whether he was enjoying Jones’ environment, Bell said the side was developing under his mentorship but needed to maintain pressure for longer periods of time.
“100 per cent,” he said. “He’s a proud Australian and he’s definitely pushing us to get better. We are getting better in certain aspects, and we’ve just got to try and replicate those first 20 minutes.
“We had a game-plan and we were sticking to it pretty heavily. After 25 minutes, I think we were winning 7-5, so things were going to plan and we had a penalty kick as well to put us further in front.
“We were doing what we had trained all week. We just seemed to go away from it.”
Angus Bell was one of the Wallabies’ best against the All Blacks. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
Bell and Samu Kerevi cut devastated figures as they addressed the media almost two hours after full-time.
Kerevi could hardly bend over to pick up his bag and limped to the team bus underneath the MCG stands.
Their shattered hearts also broke after the devastation of seeing teammate Allan Alaalatoa go down with a ruptured Achilles – the fifth Wallabies player to suffer the injury in the space of 13 months – that has ended his World Cup dreams.
In a double dose of pain, replacement prop Taniela Tupou is likely to miss the Wallabies’ return Bledisloe in Dunedin next week having been replaced midway through the second half with a rib injury. Tupou has travelled with the team to New Zealand, however.
“Al’s a massive loss,” Bell said.
“I was in the scrum when he hurt himself pretty badly,” Bell said.
“Al’s a big part of our team, a big part of our leadership and he holds a lot of respect in our group, as well as being a world-class tight-head. That’s just the start of what we lose with Allan, so it’s going to be hard without him, but we’ve got blokes in that position that can step up and fill that void but it’s a very hard void to fill.
“Obviously Nella’s [Tupou] a big loss, too. Hopefully he’s not long-term.”
Allan Alaalatoa will miss the World Cup. (Photo by Morgan Hancock/Getty Images)
Images of Quade Cooper addressing the Wallabies in the centre of the MCG also stood out.
Kerevi said his teammate was speaking heavily about the need to grow their “personal habits”, but added that the quick turnaround into next week’s return Bledisloe fixture meant the Wallabies couldn’t feel sorry for themselves.
“I think it’s good that it’s a short turnaround for us to get back on the horse,” he said.
“Like Belly said, we want to make our country proud as well as our coach and our teammates.
“We want to have those building blocks, building towards the World Cup, so next week is so important for us to bounce back.
“We’ve got a big travel day into our sessions next week and we’ve just got to keep building those combinations and that trust in our game plan because it was there in that first 25 and bits and pieces in the second half.
“We trust our coaching staff, they’re worked extremely hard for us. Off the back of late nights and early mornings, they’re connecting with us and making us better. We’ve just got to transfer that from the training onto the paddock.”
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.