Former Wallabies back-rower Stephen Hoiles has labelled the criticism directed at Eddie Jones as “disgusting”, arguing Australian rugby’s issues are systemic and go far beyond the coach of the national side.
Hoiles added that Jones was one of the few people capable of planning for the future whilst also ensuring the Wallabies can go deep into this year’s World Cup knockout stages.
There had been great hopes that Jones would be able to turn the Wallabies around immediately after being parachuted in to replace Dave Rennie at the start of the year.
The New Zealand coach was replaced after managing just a 38 per cent win record after three years in the role.
But fearing an early exit at this year’s World Cup and wanting to ensure they locked in Jones beyond this year’s World Cup to spearhead their run into hosting the tournament in 2027, Rugby Australia pounced on the 63-year-old’s services after being let go by the Rugby Football Union.
Three tough losses, including to South Africa in Pretoria and New Zealand at home, has turned the screws firmly on both Jones and RA following losing the Bledisloe Cup for a 21st straight year and their worst Rugby Championship campaign.
It has also seen several former players and coaches both home and abroad criticise RA’s decision to farewell Rennie.
Former Wallabies coach John Connolly, who took over from Jones ahead of the 2007 World Cup where Australia was knocked out at the quarter-finals to England, led the charge describing Jones as a “charlatan” and “failed selector”.
“A bloody disaster mate,” Connolly told the UK Telegraph ahead of the 38-7 loss to the All Blacks.
“How did we end up with Eddie again? He is full of it. He talks a great game but plays a terrible one. He is a charlatan, he is a failed selector. He was the captain’s pick by the chairman who just came into the job.”
He added: “When I took over from Eddie, the players were like beaten down sheepdog. If you walked in a room they would have their heads down and were scared to do anything. There was no leadership. There was no development. It was a total void that took nearly a year to rebuild. I can’t believe we have made the same mistake again.”
Hoiles, who played under Jones and Connolly for the Wallabies, said the external noise was simply not addressing the problems in Australian rugby.
“The first point is you don’t change your coaches,” Hoiles told Stan Sport’s Between Two Posts podcast when asked how the Wallabies could once again challenge for the Bledisloe Cup.
“You’ve done that enough. Now we’ve realised that that ain’t the problem. The system is the problem.
“We’ve had a lot of quality coaches in the last 10 years and they’ve all walked out going something’s wrong here, so that is not the solution. It’s the first person you want to criticise and the negativity around that stuff in particular from ex-players and coaches is disgusting.
“Like, they thought Australian rugby was sitting number one in the world at the start of the year and all of a sudden we’ve lost to the All Blacks. We’re actually supposed to lose to the All Blacks based on how the ranking system works.”
Since winning their second Webb Ellis Cup in 1999 and making the final under Jones in 2003, the Wallabies’ gradual slide has been on show since the expansion of Super Rugby and the addition from three to four and then five franchises.
(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
With the exception of the Wallabies’ relative success in 2015 by making the World Cup final, the national side has dropped as low as eighth on World Rugby’s rankings.
Hoiles said the lack of success at Super Rugby was another indicator that the Wallabies would struggle at the international level.
“The problem is this professional level below Test footy, that’s what you got to fix,” he said.
“Club footy, junior footy, sevens, women’s, every other aspect in the game is thriving, school footy, it’s all going really well. It’s just that professional level below the Wallabies, these guys they’re inherently just losing too much rugby individually.
“You can’t expect a Wallaby team that has basically just lost most of their games the last two or three years in Super Rugby to go out and just become winners. It’s a habit and they’re not getting those habits enough.”
Ireland, whose population is around five million people, have managed to have sustained success over the past decade since Australian Steve Anderson drastically overhauled their system.
The crunch decisions made by the Irish Rugby Football Union in the early 2000s have since been refined and developed by former Wallaby David Nucifora, who has once again led Ireland to the top of World Rugby’s rankings on the eve of the World Cup.
Rugby Australia is currently on the hunt for a Ewen McKenzie-type figure to spearhead the governing body’s high-performance plan to assist with the rebuild.
Hoiles said that Jones’ intellect would help.
“Here’s the thing. I don’t think any coach other than Eddie has got the ability to have an eye on the next five years like he would,” Hoiles said.
“He’s the guy that has the backing, the IP, the experience to be able to say ‘no, this needs a significant change.’ So that’s his challenge for next year to make sure there’s some type of change.”
Despite the Wallabies’ winless start to 2023, which doesn’t get any easier this weekend for the return Bledisloe bout in Dunedin, Hoiles said Jones’ side could still go deep at next month’s World Cup because of a favourable draw.
“As silly as it sounds, and drinking the Kool-Aid, I think we’re a chance at the World Cup based on our pool. They need more time together. That’s as clear as day,” Hoiles said.
It’s an opinion widely shared given the Wallabies remain the highest ranked side in their pool, where they will meet Georgia (11th), Fiji (10th), Wales (ninth) and Portugal (16th).
Former World Cup-winner Sir John Kirwan outright said the Wallabies couldn’t win the World Cup, but thought they remained a chance of making the semi-finals given they will likely come up against either England [sixth] or Argentina [seventh].
“I think we’re [New Zealand] going to win it,” he said.
“I’m talking about Australia getting through the pool, and actually getting to the quarter-finals. Fiji aren’t too bad and Wales, Gats [returning head coach Warren Gatland] is no slug either, so that’s going to be a really interesting pool, but it’s lighter than the other side. So, if they get to the quarter-finals, they can get through to the semi-finals, but I don’t think they’ve got the depth to go all the way like you guys [in 2015] had the depth.”
Bliksem
Roar Rookie
He assume what is happening in Sydney is also also happening elsewhere in Australia in the article eg schools are going well, club rugby is strong it is only the Tahs (SR) that is not performing. To extrapolate a Sydney solution to the rest of Australia is not a difference in opinion, it is a difference in they way we process and use information to inform opinions.
Danny McGowan
Roar Rookie
To be honest mate, he merely has an opinion that is not same as yours or RA's it seems. Not saying I agree, but he's still entitled to one.
FunBus
Roar Rookie
:laughing: :laughing: Yes, of course. All the comments before the game about the ‘English’ by ARU Chairman John O’Neill were faked by an actor; Tuquri merely had some dust in his eye; and the Aussie fans, media, groupies, players and administrators displayed that deep respect for England and the English and lack of arrogance that is always in evidence - particularly when it’s an aging England team that has lost 36-0 in the pool match with the Boks and had ‘ruined’ their home RWC four years before. The Wallabies made it clear they thought there was more chance of the game being abandoned because of alien invasion than ‘knuckles’ and the boys losing to the ‘Poms.’ It was hilarious.
KTinHK
Roar Pro
I agree with you totally.
GusTee
Roar Pro
Hello KTinHK I fully agree with you as to the need to develop the game in its Rugby heartland. Mistakes have been made but that is in the past. We have teams in the West and South and they are building the game in those zones. Too many on this Site knock that situation a la Hoiles and wrestle with the past. IMHO we need to move forward and embrace everyone who loves our great game. Oz should look to establishing teams in Western Sydney and another in QLD while altering the form of SR. The Oz teams should then with Fiji (which would give us a league of 8) play in a domestic SR pro comp that is followed by say the top 4 teams engaging in a shortened series of SR games with the top 4 NZ sides. I would prefer for this to be a league style series with the outcome being points based. This combo would give the Oz sides the opportunity at all levels to learn how to win, generate tribalism within fan bases and generally to build confidence in the Oz ranks. As far as I am concerned all the current system does is give the NZ pro sides, who have a great lower comp, a complete advantage over Oz. Then we can get to the international (RC) set with a bigger pool of locally based players, hopefully less on the injured list and again hopefully with more positive experience in rugby to build on. Being smashed week on and week off by NZ sides does not allow us to build structures or an Oz style of our own.
Bliksem
Roar Rookie
His views are shaped by a lack of exposure to Rugby communities outside Sydney. It doesn’t prevent him from generalising that what is happening in Sydney is also true elsewhere.
Sage
Roar Rookie
Pssst. You already did "Funbus" :)
BeastieBoy
Roar Rookie
Its not Eddies Fault.. Its Rugby Australia and the Clique that have been running it for 25 years... Running Rugby in Australia into the ground ... so that it's well recognised as Dying as a major sport in this country. Its a Disaster.. a Joke.. call it what you like.. year in and Year out for 20 years.. But its got past a Joke.. its Sad.. Sad for the kids that will never play it.. Sad for the disconnect in Families that played it for Generations and have now given up.. It wont be Fixed.. Its Terminal..It could only be fixed by Australians in Australia.. not in Overseas Board Rooms.. those with the resolve to get the District Club sides together to INDEPENDENTLY run the game domestically and who can swing the $$ behind it. With that to then DRASTICALLY change the rules to restore the games continuity and running ... DRAMATICALLY.
ScottD
Roar Guru
I also disagreed with sacking Rennie at the time. However given it is done I refuse to sook over it and am fully behind the EJ experiment. The guy can coach despite comments from guys like Knuckles and as national coach we should be supportive of him (and the national team) being successful. LETS GO WALLABIES!
FunBus
Roar Rookie
I could lie about it ‘Sage’ if that would make you happy. :happy:
KTinHK
Roar Pro
A huge part of the problem is the location of the SR teams. With 2 being in AFL heartlands, they are just not drawing in enough of the local populace to significantly build player ranks. One of the biggest mistakes the ARU has made over the last 20 years was not putting one of those teams in Western Sydney, with its huge population of footballers, especially islanders with parental roots in rugby, who now all go to league.
piru
Roar Rookie
I think the lack of money is overblown, Rugby is supposed to be the rich man's game, where are they all? Twiggy can't be the only one putting in
GusTee
Roar Pro
KTinHK - With all due respect mate, that is nonsense. Concentrating player stocks into 3 teams and cutting opportunities for many, may be a sugar hit for the surviving teams for a year or so but will not increase the player stocks for the National Coach.
Ozrugbynut
Roar Rookie
I reckon this is actually quite important. Instead of endless non-constructive and hollow criticisms and hominem from people on the outside, how about some positivity? How about supposed fans of Australian rugby actually effing advocate for the code at a time we really need it given the state of the code but more to the point the opportunity in front of us in RWC23 and RWC27 plus the BIL. Like most of you, all I've witnessed is a decline for 20 odd years. Sure we all have our doubts as to our ability to climb out of this, but we are at rock bottom and negativity, navel gazing and kicking stones will get us absolutely effing nowhere. Time for action. Last point, is it really more likely that RA, RA Board, super coaches and administration and players are all dispassionate, disengaged and incompetent as some would have you believe? Is that really more likely than not? Or is the reality that is actually an effing diabolical challenge?
Ozrugbynut
Roar Rookie
I get your point and the optics but respectfully disagree. That is why we are pursuing a PE deal and pursuing other debt funding options. Also evidenced by our P&L. We do make room for strategic acquisitions like Suallii though (as unconvinced as I am personally) as they are strategic.
Ozrugbynut
Roar Rookie
I get the sentiment but I think it can because I believe it is in us and it has to.
piru
Roar Rookie
They can always find the money to buy league players, cash isn't the problem
Guess
Roar Rookie
Yep he was for Jones from the beginning. Now he's pretending he's not biased
Guess
Roar Rookie
Meh another Jones lap dog criticising criticism instead of criticising his owner lol
Bliksem
Roar Rookie
Coaches makes a huge difference if they are much better than their predecessor eg Rassie vs Coetzee. If you pick the wrong players and your game plan are not playing to your strengths as the Boks did in 2016, who else but the coach should be blamed. Especially if your successor manage to get success with almost an identical team. I think EJ got a couple of selections wrong and his play without the ball game plan backfired…. He is not a referee and therefore not above criticism. He is definitely not shy to criticise others but when it comes his way it is either “inappropriate” or “unnecessary negative”. We should worry when people stop criticising because then they stopped caring.