Australia Head Coach Eddie Jones has cast doubts on his future with the Wallabies, after stating that it will be “time to go” regardless of Australia’s success at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
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The competition kicks off in 100 days time, and Jones’ recent comments suggest that he will be stepping away after the showpiece event in France.
Eddie Jones took a brief step away from the Wallabies, as he took charge of the Barbarians last weekend. His Baa-Baas side was captained by Alun Wyn Jones, and recorded a thrilling 48-42 victory over the World XV, who were coached by former All Blacks Head Coach Steve Hansen.
Jones reportedly said on the Evening Standard Rugby Podcast;
“I’m only coaching to this World Cup,” “I’ve signed, but as I’ve made the mistake before, I’ve stayed too long. So we win the World Cup it will be time to go. If we lose the World Cup it will be time to go.”
It is no secret that Eddie Jones is a master of mind games, as Jones said his piece to Lawrence Dallaglio in the podcast that aired yesterday. The Australian is lining-up a World Cup reunion with his former side England, and Jones may well be trying to get under the skin of his former employers.
Jones took over as Wallabies Head Coach as the replacement for Dave Rennie back in January. However, the 63-year-old could well be finished with the post before the year is up.
In November 2022, there was speculation around Jones taking charge of the United States senior team, once he left his role with England. However these reported ‘temptations’ never came to fruition.
Jones has gained notoriety for coming out with quotes that stir up responses, with his legendary ‘straight bat’ interview with BBC Journalist Sonja McLaughlan going viral during the 2020 Six Nations.
Jones has also been getting reactions out of his ambitious Wallabies, as the bolters are fighting tooth and nail to secure a place for the trip to France. Talented fly-half Noah Lolesio recently gave an outburst to the cameras, after scoring a try in Super Rugby in response to an Eddie Jones selection.
The Brumbies playmaker scored, and proceeded to shout ‘Carter Gordon?’ into the cameras, in protest of the Melbourne Rebels halfback being selected over him.
Jones is certainly no stranger to an eye-opening comment, and it will be interesting to see if he does step away from the role as Wallabies Head Coach, after the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
“Got lucky” – Correct England Rugby World Cup 2023 group would be a nightmare
England were handed a favourable group in the draw for the 2023 Rugby World Cup – but could meet either Australia and Wales in quarter-finals.
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Steve Borthwick will ultimately be pleased with the outcome of the draw, which saw his side also pitted against Argentina and Japan. England will kick-off their campaign against Iran on the opening day of the tournament on November 21.
The recently released World Rugby Rankings highlight the absurdity of the Pool Draw for the upcoming Rugby World Cup 2023, which was determined three years in advance and appears to be heavily skewed.
In response to criticism, World Rugby has announced that future pool draws for the Rugby World Cup will be conducted closer to the start of the tournament, as the current practice of relying on team rankings at the time of the draw is deemed unfair.
As a result, the guys over at Eggchasers Rugby put together their own drawer the 2023 tournament based on the current World Rugby rankings.
Concentrating on only the top 10 countries in the world, it looks significant.
It was very different with England handed a much sterner test in their pool. Watch the full video here.
POOL A actual draw:
- France
- New Zealand
POOL A up to date draw
- France
- Australia