Speaking to Sydney radio station 2GB, Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh says “everyone would be very, very disappointed” if Eddie Jones spoke to Japan prior to the Rugby World Cup; Waugh would not be drawn on Jones’ future as Wallabies head coach after a pool-stage exit
Last Updated: 19/10/23 8:58am
Eddie Jones was reported to have held talks with Japan ahead of Australia’s Rugby World Cup campaign
Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh says it would be disappointing if Eddie Jones had a job interview with Japan before the World Cup.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported Jones was interviewed by the Japan Rugby Football Union for a role before the Wallabies’ opening match of the World Cup in France.
Jones, who is contracted through to the end of the 2027 World Cup, has repeatedly denied it and stated on Tuesday he was committed to coaching the Wallabies.
Waugh said Jones had also denied it to him personally and he “[took] him for his word”, but made it clear he would take dim view if it were proven otherwise.
“Everyone would be very, very disappointed if he had, particularly given the stage that we were at going into the World Cup,” Waugh told Sydney radio station 2GB.
Asked if Jones had been disloyal, Waugh said: “Anyone of a reasonable mind would say that if those conversations did occur, going into a World Cup, then I think that would be an appropriate assumption. It’s not a big call.
“That’d be fair to say – that if those conversations were occurring in the middle of a World Cup campaign for Australia, at a World Cup that we were going [into] to win, then it would be disappointing.”
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Australia head coach Eddie Jones insists he is committed to the job and is not worried about being sacked after their Rugby World Cup group stage exit.
The Japan Rugby Football Union has declined to comment on whether Jones was interviewed.
Jones picked an inexperienced squad and omitted several seasoned campaigners for the World Cup, where Australia crashed out at the group stage for the first time.
Waugh declined to comment on Jones’s future as coach or whether a job interview with a rival rugby union in the lead-up to a World Cup would count as a breach of contract.
He said RA would act on recommendations after a review and assessment of the World Cup campaign.
Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh would not be drawn on Eddie Jones’ future as head coach
“The reality is that we were clearly very disappointing in the World Cup and we’ve let down Australians that put the trust and belief in the environment to do well,” Waugh said.
“It’s been disappointing and we’ve got a lot to do in terms of regaining the trust of the public.
“We need to do a thorough assessment of our performance and the campaign, which were in the process of doing and, hopefully, we can do that really quickly.”