It may well be his 2nd coming as Wallabies trainer however Eddie Jones insists he will have to now not be handled because the messiah as he units his points of interest on resurrecting a golden technology for rugby union in Australia. If they are able to take down New Zealand alongside the way in which, then such a lot the simpler.
Back at his outdated stomping flooring of Sydney’s Matraville Sports High School on Tuesday, Jones used to be in bullish shape as he confronted native media for the primary time since beginning his five-year contract on Monday.
Jones says the ones 5 years – which might be punctuated by means of a 2025 Lions excursion and a Rugby World Cup on house soil in 2027 – can be essential in reshaping the status of the 15-a-side sport in Australia.
“I’m not the messiah,” Jones warned. “We’re all in this together – sometimes you need somebody to beat the drum to make you walk a bit faster.”
For all his daring statements on Tuesday, the intense a part of Jones’ tenure is the reality he has simply 5 Tests to arrange a facet with a 5-9 document in 2022 for this yr’s World Cup in France. They come with two Tests in opposition to the All Blacks, with Jones fascinated about finishing Australia’s 21-year Bledisloe Cup drought quicker somewhat than later.
“That is a big target for us because we know if we can take on New Zealand we are in a good position to take the World Cup,” he stated. “It’s not the be all and end all because the World Cup is the major tournament.
“They [New Zealand] are in a pretty good spot, but we’re coming after them. We’ll be chasing them down the street, we want that rivalry to be tough and we’ll make sure we’re chasing them.”
Jones says any Wallabies revival starts with his support staff. Dan McKellar and Laurie Fisher are the incumbent assistant coaches left by Dave Rennie’s regime, with Jones to make a call on his backroom team in the coming weeks.
The new Wallabies coach said hires would be made based on what his players require – players he says just need the belief they can topple the world’s best.
“Our players don’t lack talent, if you did a world XV on talent, there would be a fair few Australian players in there,” he stated. “We’ve got to find the right level of coaching for the players so they give a bit more.
Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile [when] medical history said your body would disintegrate. The Kenyan [Eliud Kipchoge] broke the two-hour marathon [record], Our players don’t know how good they can be. I’ve got a role to prod them, cajole them, love them to see if we can get a bit more out of them.”
Jones issued a warning to Super Rugby players ahead of the season opener on 24 February, saying their form would “select or deselect” them.
“If they’re worried or excited, it doesn’t concern me,” he stated. “If they are at their highest in Super Rugby then they are going to be within the Wallabies. Then they are going to be excited, as a result of they are going to pass on a adventure to modify Australian rugby.”