29 October 2023 , 09:25
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Eddie Jones's disastrous reign as coach of the Australia rugby team is over following his resignation.
Jones was at the helm for a dismal Wallabies showing at the World Cup in which Australia were eliminated at the pool stage, with Wales and Fiji advancing to the knockout rounds at their expense. The 63-year-old had only returned to Australia earlier this year, penning a $4.5million contract that ran until 2027.
It is believed that the plan devised from those above him was to have Jones develop the side to put them in a great position to challenge for the next World Cup, which will be hosted by Australia in four years' time.
Despite having so long still left to run on his contract, Jones' long-term future had been in doubt ever since the Sydney Morning Herald revealed he had held talks with the Japanese federation over their head coach role.
Speaking to the aforementioned outlet about his departure, Jones claimed: "[I] gave it a run. Hopefully be the catalyst for change. Sometimes you have to eat s*** for others to eat caviar further down the track."
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Jones won just two of his six games in charge. It is believed he will soon take over as Japan's head coach, despite previously denying he had held talks with the Brave Blossoms.
Prior to his exit, Jones had opened up on where he felt Australian rugby was going wrong. "Firstly, it's capturing the talent," he said. "Currently at the age of 14, 15, every athletic kid, the NRL teams want them if they are tall and they can run, AFL teams want them too - and if they're tough, rugby teams want them - and what we're doing, we're not capturing the amount of talent we need to capture and keeping them.
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Eddie Jones has stepped down from his post as Australia coach (SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP) (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON/AFP via Getty Images)"And then secondly, we need a much more competitive environment at the top professional end, and we need players to have to work really hard, to be good players to try to survive."
Jones also took a parting shot at the media, suggesting their portrayal of him as uncommitted was unfair. "The only thing I'm disappointed about is the media was trying to portray me as not being committed to Australian rugby," he told The Australian.
'The last thing anyone could criticise me about is commitment. Anyone that really knows me, knows I've been committed to it. I've given it a go.'
He has not offered up any comment on what his next move may be, but Jones did make clear he wants at least one more job at international level before calling it quits.