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PARIS – Eddie Jones remains adamant the Wallabies’ confidence hasn’t been shaken despite heading into next month’s World Cup winless and says his side is building steadily ahead of their September 9 opener against Georgia.
After losing all four Tests in the Southern Hemisphere to their SANZAAR rivals, the Wallabies suffered their fifth consecutive match to start the year on Sunday evening.
Les Bleus scored four tries, including three in the second half and each from kicks, to start the party early ahead of their World Cup opening match against the All Blacks on September 8 in Paris.
The joyful celebrations at full-time for the home side were in stark contrast to the gloomy feeling building in Australia, with the Wallabies experiencing their most unique and concerning lead-up to any World Cup campaign since the tournament began in 1987.
Eddie Jones says he remains confident the Wallabies are on track ahead of the World Cup despite suffering their fifth straight loss at Stade de France on August 27, 2023 in Paris. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
After Rugby Australia parachuted Jones into the role at the expense of Dave Rennie in January after becoming a free agent one month earlier, the respected coach’s strong talk in the media has yet to translate to wins on the field.
Throw in the fact that Jones has done away with household names Michael Hooper and Quade Cooper and the nation is on tenterhooks heading into the global showpiece event.
Yet, with several emerging talents showing signs of real promise and the Wallabies’ generous looking World Cup draw, where they won’t play a nation ranked inside the top five until the semi-finals, there remains hope Jones’ men can progress deeper than the form guide suggests.
Jones’ own history at World Cups, where he has taken two nations to a final and been an assistant during South Africa’s victory in 2007, is another factor that RA is clinging to hope that the 63-year-old knows what he is doing.
“Within the camp we’ve got a fair bit of confidence,” Jones insisted.
“Obviously we’d like to have a better win/loss record but we’ve re-established the team. We’ve taken away all the leadership that was there previously. We’ve got a new leadership team in place. We’re trying to play a different way.
“The results haven’t been good. It hasn’t been good enough. I’m not hiding away from that but we do have a longer-term plan in terms of the World Cup and that’s what we’re here for.”
Gabin Villiere scored France’s third try against the Wallabies at Stade de France on August 27, 2023 in Paris. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
Indeed, the results have not been pretty but the Wallabies’ thrashing on the scoreboard on Sunday once again didn’t quite tell the whole story.
Rising playmaker Carter Gordon, who started for the third straight time after debuting off the bench in South Africa in July, left 10 points on the field.
His two missed penalties in the first half were a hammer blow to the Wallabies’ hopes of building scoreboard pressure.
In stark contrast, France’s fullback Thomas Ramos kicked 16 points and landed five from six penalties, including four in the first half to help set up a 16-5 half-time lead.
“Yeah, nah, 100 per cent. But all we can do is work with the young kid,” said Jones, after being asked about the risk taken by not having an established goal-kicker.
“We’ve got young kids in this team. We’re backing them and he’ll [Gordon] get better.”
The Wallabies enjoyed 61 per cent of territory and edged their rivals at the scrum but were well beaten where it mattered: the scoreboard.
Jones lamented his side’s inability turn pressure into points, with France’s defensive maul adding to the Wallabies’ frustrations in the key area.
Yet, the Wallabies coach said he was confident they were on the right track.
“The scoreboard is always important, don’t get me wrong, but we’ve got a greater aim than this game,” he said.
“We enjoyed being part of the party tonight but in terms of what we want to do for the World Cup, in particular our first game, we probably did a lot of good things.
“But we’ve got to get better at converting territory to points and at the same time, when they get in our territory, stopping them scoring points.
“We had 63 per cent of territory in the first half and were behind 16-5 at half-time. A good team that doesn’t happen to. We’re not a bad team but we’re not a good team yet.
“We’re going through the process of becoming a good team.
“We’ve got to keep believing and working hard and it’ll come. It might be in two weeks’ time against Georgia. It might be three weeks against Fiji. It might be four weeks against Wales. It might be five weeks against Portugal. We don’t know when it’s going to come.”
Mark Nawaqanitawase scored early against France but it took another 50 minutes for the Wallabies to add more points. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
Jones said he was buoyed by the Wallabies’ mindset, where they never went away despite the game being out of reach midway through the second half.
“I liked the way the players kept fighting. I really enjoyed that,” Jones said.
“They [France] were red hot in the second half. Every bounce went their way. The referee was getting involved in the spirit of the [atmosphere]… it was a tough second half but we kept in there and kept fighting.”
As well as the Wallabies reason evening at the set-piece, Jones said Suliasi Vunivalu’s improved showing was symbolic of the progress across the entire team.
“I was thinking about the number of players that are improving,” Jones said.
“We’ve got more players improving than declining. Suli is one. At Super Rugby level, he couldn’t; blow a candle out and at Test level he scored one good try, could have scored a couple more. He looks like he’s ready to play at the highest level.
“And the big fella next to me [captain Will Skelton].
“We’ve got a lot of players improving but what we haven’t got is that fit at the moment. That fit of everyone getting together. We’ve got another two weeks to get ready for Georgia and we’ll move down that track pretty well.”
Andrew Kellaway was the only injury concern coming out of the game, with the fullback coming off late in the match after getting strapping on his arm.
But Jones said he was confident his experienced back would be “OK”.
While backs Max Jorgensen and Samu Kerevi are progressing well from injuries, James Slipper was wearing a moon boot to try and aid his recovery from a foot injury.
Jones, however, said he didn’t think he would be forced into any changes to his 33-man World Cup, which must be confirmed by Monday AEST.
“We’ve been going through a tough training period as the boys know, so everyone’s right on the edge at the moment,” he said.
“We’ll have one more week of hard training in Saint Etienne and then we’ll ease off a bit for the Georgia game. So, we’ve got a few blokes right on the edge, but at this stage I couldn’t envisage the 33 being changed.”
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.