Eddie Jones attacks Rugby Australia, blaming mysterious “other forces” for coaching disaster as he prepares to reunite with eight of his Wallabies
- Jones says “other forces” forced him to give up on the Wallabies
- He said his role would be at risk if he didn’t quit
- He insisted that he wanted to change the system but couldn’t
Eddie Jones has explained that “there were other forces at play” that forced him to quit the Wallabies coaching role as he delivered another farewell comment on the state of the code in Australia.
Jones was in Wales to coach the Barbarians squad, which will include eight of the players who took part in the most unsuccessful Wallabies World Cup in history. Jones said he had to quit because he felt his role was being “compromised.”
He said Rugby Australia officials did not share his vision for the team and the sport, so he terminated his five-year contract without being able to take another job, despite ties to Japan disrupting the World Cup effort.
“I went in with a plan and had a commitment from Rugby Australia about what that would look like,” Jones said.
“When the consensus about where we wanted to go was no longer the same – not because Rugby Australia didn’t want to, but because there were other forces at play – then all I could do was resign.”
Eddie Jones has fired a parting shot at Rugby Australia, blaming “other forces” for his exit
Jones said Rugby Australia officials did not share his vision for the team (pictured with the Wallabies stars during their World Cup defeat to Fiji).
Jones said he wanted to change the system, which was one of the main reasons he chose such an inexperienced World Cup team.
But the officials did not recognize his vision.
“Of course the results are disappointing, but I went in with a plan to change Australian rugby, not just the team but the system to put it together.”
“If you’ve had 20 years of unsuccessful rugby, it’s because of the system. “I’ve developed a plan to change the system and it can’t be changed.
“I felt like my job would be in jeopardy for the next four years, which I wasn’t prepared to do.”
Jones has selected six players, including Rob Leota and Rob Valetini from the Wallabies team that played in the 40-6 win over Wales that sealed Australia’s World Cup fate.
Jones said he wanted to change the system, but officials didn’t see it the way he wanted
Props Taniela Tupou and Izaia Perese, also in Jones’ France squad, will also be in the starting line-up on Saturday, with former Wallabies captain Michael Hooper, who Jones did not take with him to the World Cup, also in the team.