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Eddie Jones’ ability to make headlines across the world has never been clearer after his extraordinary press conference ahead of the Wallabies’departure for the World Cup.
Whether you side with the wily coach and believe the reporters’ questioning was “terrible” and “negative” or feel frustrated that Jones failed to answer any actual questions to loop back with his single minded assault on the journos – you can’t ignore the fact he has a gift for publicity that makes him the Kim Kardashian of rugby union.
In England, where they have plenty of experience of Jones’ outbursts in the past decade, The Times described the airport appearance as a “hissy fit” and suggested it was part of his usual strategy of creating a distraction.
“In two entirely unconnected events, Australia’s attack coach walked out on the eve of the team’s departure for the World Cup and then Eddie Jones, wearing a Crocodile Dundee hat, created a press conference pantomime before boarding his flight to Paris,” wrote Alex Lowe in The Times.
“Brad Davies, the former London Irish defence coach, left the Wallabies set-up after four matches “for personal reasons” but he is expected to reunite with Les Kiss as part of the Queensland Reds management team.
Wallabies head coach Eddie Jones speaks to media at Sydney International Airport on August 17, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
“The news was broken by the Australian sports website The Roar, which also reported that Davis did not enjoy the coaching environment under Jones — an all too familiar tale for England supporters.
“One of the hallmarks of Jones’s tenure with England was the high turnover of coaches. Another was his ability to create a distraction and have everyone looking away from whatever was on fire that week: poor performances, bad results, selection controversies, coaches walking out.”
Charlie Morgan, in the UK Telegraph, said Jones “launched a scathing tirade” at reporters.
“Controversy has followed Jones into this second stint as Wallabies head coach, which has comprised four losses from four matches so far. It was announced today that Brad Davis, one of his assistant coaches, would not be part of the World Cup due to personal reasons,” wrote Morgan, citing The Roar’s exclusive.
Reports have also suggested Jones could not contact Quade Cooper to tell the veteran fly-half that he was left out of the 33-man squad for the tournament. It was a question about Cooper that turned the mood sour at Sydney Airport, with Jones seeming to blame media coverage for the state of rugby union in Australia.”
Wallabies head coach Eddie Jones speaks to media at Sydney International Airport on August 17, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
Eoin Harrington, writing for Irish sports site balls.ie, said Jones blow ups came with the territory of having him as coach.
“Having Eddie Jones at the helm will always add another layer of publicity, and the Australian head coach is in the news once again after losing the rag with the negative line of questioning from home journalists ahead of their departure for France,” he wrote.
“Though it may be natural to expect some support from the national press, it’s easy to understand why very few are feeling positive about Australia’s chances in this Rugby World Cup, given their performances in recent games.
“The only silver lining is that they have “lucked” their way into one of the easier groups on paper, with Wales (alongside them in Group C) the only major player ranked below Australia in the world rankings.”
Wales Online headlined their report “Eddie Jones loses it in extraordinary rant at ‘worst ever’ airport press conference”, saying Jones “erupted” at reporters in a “chaotic” press conference.
The New Zealand Herald opined: “Wallabies coach Eddie Jones isn’t shy from tearing into journalists but ahead of the team’s flight to Europe this afternoon he unloaded a tirade of abuse for the ages.
“The outspoken coach thought the press conference at Sydney International Airport was so bad he called it “the worst press conference I’ve ever had in world rugby”.”
Jones was trending on X (formerly Twitter) as he travelled to the northern hemisphere.
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.