- Eddie Jones now coaches the Japan national team
- It remains a topic of conversation this week in the UK.
- Jones previously coached England and Wallabies.
Gone but not forgotten, the specter of Eddie Jones clearly still haunts and fascinates some Wallabies players.
While Jones’ second spell in charge of Australia was woeful, it remained a talking point at the Wallabies’ first press conference ahead of this Saturday’s Test against England, whom Jones also coached, at Twickenham.
Back at Jones’s old training ground in Teddington, Wallabies pair Samu Kerevi and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto heaped praise on their new coach Joe Schmidt ahead of their first match of the Grand Slam tour.
However, there was still time for the topic of Jones’ controversial regimes to arise, a year after he quit the Wallabies and a couple of years after he was sacked by England.
This was mainly because in Danny Care’s new autobiography, the former England scrum-half has rekindled memories of Jones, who now oversees Japan.
He explosively suggested during the seven-year reign under the Australian government that “everyone was terrified of him” and that he ruled by fear.
Care never hid his admiration for Jones as a coach, and Kerevi was happy to jump to the 64-year-old’s defence.
“I wouldn’t say scary,” Kerevi shrugged when asked about life with Jones.
Former coach Eddie Jones (pictured) clearly still haunts and fascinates some Wallabies players
Wallabies center Samu Kerevi was “not terrified” of Jones and told reports he admired his “pursuit of excellence”.
“I think that’s how you take it.” I grew up in a different culture to what rugby is now.
‘The pursuit of excellence puts pressure on everyone, and I think that’s just Eddie.
‘I have a good relationship with Eddie. I think their pressure was not only on the players, but also on the staff. I think that’s probably what Danny Care (from England) is talking about.
But that’s how you receive it. Do you thrive under it? I guess for us we didn’t get the results last year with Eddie. But our focus now is on Joe and the team this year. So I wish Eddie all the best.”
Salakaia-Loto also loves life with Schmidt.
‘As players, it has been unreal. “He’s obviously got the runs on the board and his resume shows the success he’s had as a coach and the influence he can have on teams,” Lock said.
‘And he’s definitely had that influence on us this year. I think his attention to detail around the game, the way he stresses the importance of fundamentals and the basic skills we need to do well to become a successful team, is something that has been pushed quite a bit.
“I think the guys who have been involved before will tell you it’s been a breath of fresh air for everyone involved and we’re only going to get better and prosper with someone like Joe.”
Meanwhile, former Wallabies center Morgan Turinui reckons Joseph Suaalii will excel against England.
He believes the former Roosters NRL star will be “an excellent success” and feature off the bench.
Australia take on England from 2:10am AEDT on Sunday 10 November, live on Stan Sport.
