Jones safe as Wallabies coach, says RA boss

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Saint-Etienne: Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh says Eddie Jones’ position as Wallabies coach is safe for now but admits their World Cup campaign has not gone to plan.

Waugh also reiterated his view that it was not his place to contact the Japan Rugby Football Union to ask whether Jones had been interviewed for its head coaching role via Zoom just days before the Wallabies’ World Cup campaign, as revealed last week by this masthead.

“We’re committed to Eddie, in the commitment we made to him earlier in the year, and we’ll go through the assessment of this campaign,” Waugh said in France.

“It’s been bitterly disappointing. We came here with a lot of hope and optimism. Everything is out of our hands. There’s a lot that has probably been declining with Australian rugby for some time, so I think it’s a result of a period where we are slipping more and more.

“I’ve been pretty forthright around the fact we are committed to Eddie and he probably looks at the campaign and is bitterly disappointed about his performance and the Wallabies’ performance. It’s a pretty challenging world being a coach and I can understand that.”

Waugh also repeated his assertion that it was not his place to ask the JRFU whether the interview with Jones took place. Jones, who has denied having the interview, has told Waugh he is committed to Australian rugby.

Eddie Jones after Australia’s win over Portugal in France. Credit: Getty

“Eddie has made his comments to me that he is committed. I’m not going to find out where conversations are occurring,” Waugh said. “I take Eddie for his word and he has told us there is nothing to it.”

The Wallabies need a miracle to stay in the World Cup after losses to Fiji and Wales all but consigned them to their worst showing ever at the game’s centrepiece event. Portugal must beat Fiji for Australia to have any hope of making a quarter-final.

A 34-14 win over Portugal on Sunday was Jones’ second victory from nine matches this year.

The Wallabies coach has sidestepped questions about his future, saying he will leave his fate in the hands of RA following a year in which Australia lost every Test they played against a tier-one nation.

Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh. Credit: James Brickwood

However, Waugh has made it clear that RA would like to honour Jones’ five-year contract, which expires at the end of 2027.

Jones’ selections have been under the microscope after he left Michael Hooper, Quade Cooper and Len Ikitau out of the World Cup squad despite being among the Wallabies’ best players in recent years.

Waugh admitted poor selections may have contributed to Australia’s woeful performance at the World Cup.

“I think selection is something that is always debatable and hindsight is a wonderful thing,” Waugh said. “The performances certainly weren’t at a level they needed to be when you come to a World Cup.

“They’re just as disappointed as everyone else. We’ll make an assessment of the campaign but our intent is to continue on the path we are on. This is not about chopping and changing coaches.

“This campaign is a good example of the decline, but what we haven’t done over time is deliver what we said we’re going to deliver and so whilst we have this great vision, it’s really important to build trust with our stakeholders and our member unions to believe that we can deliver on the vision because I do think we’ve got a really strong vision on that alignment.”

Jones was given a chance to outline his long-term commitment to the Wallabies after Australia’s win over Portugal but insisted his only focus was on a training week that might not mean anything.

“I’m going to have three days off and then three days of training. That’s the only thing I have to worry about at this stage,” Jones said.

“That’s the only answer I’m going to give you at this stage. I don’t mean to be rude. I have a focus to coach this week.”

Watch all the action from Rugby World Cup 2023 on the Home of Rugby, Stan Sport. Every match streaming ad-free, live and in 4K UHD with replays, mini matches and highlights available on demand.

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