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Wallabies coach Eddie Jones has again denied any contact with Japan and committed to staying in the job through to the next World Cup.
“That’s the intention, mate, but as you know, we play in a game where the coach doesn’t decide how long they stay,” he said at a media conference on Tuesday, adding he had a “100 percent” passion to continue coaching the Wallabies.
“I’m staying. I’ve always been committed to Australian rugby, want to leave it in a better place and that’s still the job. “
He was asked about his pre-tournament press conference where he attacked reporters’ negativity – “I probably need to give myself an uppercut, don’t I?” he joked.
Jones said he accepted that a review would be required into the World Cup flop, but his statement puts the ball firmly in Rugby Australia’s court as far as his future goes.
So far RA have said they intend backing Jones and he said he believed he had official support. He refused to answer a question on potential break clauses in his contract with RA.
On whether he will see out his contract through the end of 2027, Jones said: “It’s not absolutely my decision. “We’ve got a review going forward and let’s see what happens at the end of the review.
He said he was not worried about being sacked but accepted it was possible.
“I don’t control those sort of things. All I can do is coach. I went to the World Cup, came in for a short period of time and had to make a decision on the team, made the decision we needed to go with youth, and whilst the results in the World Cup weren’t the results we wanted, I think I’ve left the Australian team in a great position to go on to 2027.
Wallabies coach Eddie Jones. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
“That judgment will be decided by the 2027 World Cup.”
He said the team – including coaches and players – have already completed their own review of the World Cup disaster. The next one would be “a formal review to be done by independent consultants” and he was ready to participate.
“I didn’t come back to Australia to have a holiday – sit down at Coogee Beach, eat fish and chips, have a nice flat white. It was always going to be a battle. When you’ve got a team that hasn’t done well for a long period of time, it’s always a battle.”
Jones said it was crucial that Rugby Australia got alignment in the code from grassroots through to the top team as it looks to rebuild it’s international standing. Australia, a two-time world champion, is currently ranked 10th in the world.
“You just got to watch the quarterfinals at the weekend. We’re not at that level. And we can’t pretend to be at that level. But can we be at that level by 2027? Yes, we can,” said Jones.
“We’re definitely off the pace but the opportunity to get better is there. I love the game. I love working with young players. I loved seeing some of the young players maturing during the World Cup and some of them struggle. And that’s all part of it. But I love the game and I love coaching the Wallabies.”
Jones was named Wallabies coach at the start of the year as replacement for Dave Rennie. He came in with grand statements that his team could win the Rugby Championship, Bledisloe Cup and make a smash and grab on the World Cup.
Wallabies coach Eddie Jones. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
None of those targets were achieved and Jones changed his tune about building for the future when he named a young team for the doomed Cup campaign – where his team became the first Australians to bow out of a RWC in the pool stages.
He finished the year with a 2-7 win loss record – the only two victories coming against lowly Georgia and Portugal.
On Tuesday he said he no regrets with leaving experienced players such as Quade Cooper and Michael Hooper out of the side for the tournament.
“Everyone’s got their own judgment and they’re allowed to have that judgment,” he said. “My choice was that I decided to go with youth. And I stand by that because I think we’ve got a a lot of good young players who are really going to benefit from that experience at the World Cup, and going forward to the 2027 World Cup.”
It was reported during the campaign that Jones had an interview for the Japan head coach role but he denied that again on Tuesday, having previously also denied the story.
“I haven’t been speaking to anyone, mate,” was all Jones would say on multiple reports of conversations with sources in Japanese rugby.
He said he understood why Australian fans were hurting.
“We feel all the supporters hurt and really appreciate the great support we had in France and back in Australia for the team,” said Jones.
“Sometimes the change you have to have is uncomfortable. It is quite difficult. And sometimes you have to go through this to get into a better state and I believe that the problems we’ve had particularly at the national team will put us in a better state going forward.”
Jones clearly believes he is the right man to carry Australia on.
“I think I’ve got the foresight to see where we need to go. I’ve got the experience of being in difficult situations before,” Jones said.
“This is not an unusual situation. You’ve got a team that was struggling for a period of time, you’ve got underneath it a system that’s not supporting it and at some stage you bottom out.
“This is the opportunity now to change the team- as we’ve started with picking younger players with bright futures – and then we’ve got to look at the development system underneath as well.
“It’s not a simple equation that the Wallabies are bad. Let’s be serious about this. The Wallabies are not where they need to be but underneath that we need to fix the system to go forward. And if we can do that now we’ve got a rosy future.”