Members of Australia’s rugby team were left feeling pretty nervous following the appointment of Eddie Jones.
The 62-year-old lost his job as England head coach last December and wasted no time finding a new role. 18 years after his first stint managing the national side came to an end, he is now leading the Wallabies once again.
The entire squad were left stunned when it emerged Jones will replace Dave Rennie as they prepare to build toward the Rugby World Cup. They have been placed in a group with Georgia, Fiji, Wales and Portugal in France this September and October.
And Jones’ hard-nosed attitude and intense, demanding reputation has been a significant talking point among the Aussie dressing room. Scrum-half Nic White said: “Obviously a few emotions there.
“We had just done a camp with Dave and set the scene around the World Cup and we had been with Dave for three years. Initially, you’re saddened that he is not able to take us through to the World Cup. But the guy coming in, Eddie Jones, an amazing coach, a guy who a lot of us admire what he’s done and are pretty excited. Excited and I guess everyone is kind of quietly, you know, (s***ing) themselves about Eddie coming in.
“Mate, he’s a world class coach so there is a bit of excitement there but he is also a whole lot of unknown for us players. It has been a ride.” To heighten their feelings of shock and nervousness, back-row Ned Hanigan claimed the team did not know who their new coach would be until Rugby Australia dropped one of their most shocking press releases in recent memory.
“It has been a bit hectic,” he described. “We were back in on Monday week and, yeah, we were in for a few medicals and got pulled in. News got delivered quite quickly. Rens is out, Eddie is in. Jaw hit the ground, it was all a bit of a shock. But it is an exciting year, nevertheless.”
Jones’ full-throttle approach is already be in full force Down Under and he could take revenge on England at the World Cup, with a potential quarter-final clash against his former employers on the cards. Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, he said: "I’m thinking about retribution, because the most important thing is to get Australia playing really consistently well. If we happen to meet England on the way, well and good.
"I might have a conversation with some of the players and not with the administration. Then we will get on with the battle. You could maybe pick it now — the quarter-final (Australia v England) could be in Marseille."
Jones did admit that there was still an element of 'disappointment' surrounding his sacking from the England setup.
He commented: "There was a difference of opinion. I felt that we were where we needed to be, but the RFU did not — which is their prerogative so I don’t hold any recriminations against them."
