Australian rugby boss delivers verdict on Eddie Jones' World Cup Wallabies
Eddie Jones has been told in no uncertain terms that Australia’s worst ever World Cup campaign is not good enough and he needs to do a better job.
A clear blue sky over Saint Etienne on Monday morning offered a stark contrast to the black storm clouds hanging over the woeful Wallabies.
Jones would have anticipated an expression of disappointment from his employers but perhaps not the blunt verdict delivered by Phil Waugh, chief executive of the Australian Rugby Union.
“There's been no lack of desire and commitment from the Wallabies, we just haven’t been good enough,” Waugh said. “We’ve had a really loyal fan base travel over to France and we’ve let those people down. We need to do a better job of delivering for them.”
Compare that with how the Rugby Football Union pussy-footed around Jones after back-to-back Six Nations campaigns in which England lost more games than they won.
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“Eddie is building a new England team and against a clear strategy, we are encouraged by the solid progress the team has made,” the Union said in a vote of confidence still as jaw-dropping now as it was a year ago.
Nick Tompkins scores a try during Wales record 40-6 defeat of Australia in Lyon (PA Wire)Waugh was not about to venture down that path, nor accept Jones’ argument that he is building a team for the future and “we’re going to go through some pain”.
It was notable enough he fronted up, given RFU counterpart Bill Sweeney has not engaged directly with English rugby for months, despite four of the country’s top 13 clubs going bust.
“We came to the World Cup here in France to win the World Cup,” said the former Wallaby captain. “I don’t think you go to World Cups looking to win the next one.
Jones: "We’ve done all we can. The [Fiji] game will take it’s course" (Getty Images)“A lot of people spent a lot of money to come over here to support the Wallabies and they came here hoping to win the World Cup. That was certainly our expectation, or our commitment.
“I’d much prefer to talk about the disappointment of not performing to where we’d like to rather than the excuse that we’re building to 2027 because I just don’t think that washes and I don’t think that’s good enough.”
Australia are actually still in the tournament, despite humbling losses to Fiji and Wales. If the Pacific Islanders tighten up as they did against Georgia it is not unthinkable they could come unstuck against Portugal.
Waugh watches a Wallabies training session at Stade Roger Baudras in Saint-Etienne (Getty Images)Only, with the British and Irish Lions tour to Australia less than two years away, Waugh is not wasting time on flights of fancy.
“We talk about a golden decade for Australian rugby but the reality is, we don't have that long,” said a man only four months in the hot seat. “The Lions are going to be in Australia in less than two years' time.
“We've got some players, when everyone's fit, who are competitive, but the depth is certainly a concern. We just don’t play enough competitive rugby.
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"We're absolutely up against the clock in terms of actually changing the system. The British and Irish Lions is going to be a huge challenge when you look at the growth of the north over the last period of time."
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