Rugby Australia boss moving on from Eddie Jones saga

By Christopher Reive

Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh won’t be seeking any explanation from the Japanese Rugby Football Union should Eddie Jones be revealed as the Brave Blossoms’ new head coach.

Jones was signed by Rugby Australia (RA) to replace Dave Rennie as Wallabies head coach in early 2023, leading the side through the Rugby Championship, Bledisloe Cup and World Cup campaigns. In the nine tests Jones was in charge of, the side won just two.

During their faltering World Cup campaign, news broke that Jones had met with the Japan Rugby Football (JFRU) Union just days before the Wallabies’ warm-up match against France about returning to the post he held from 2012-15.

Jones denied the reports and continually voiced his commitment to Australia.

He then resigned from his position as Wallabies coach less than a year into a five-year deal after the side failed to get out of their pool at the World Cup, though he said in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald that his resignation did not mean he would be the next coach of Japan.

This week, Japanese media reported Jones is set to fill the void left by Jamie Joseph’s departure, with the appointment just awaiting approval from the JRFU board who were set to meet this week.

Speaking in Auckland after a meeting to discuss the way forward for Super Rugby Pacific, Waugh said RA was moving on from the Jones saga.

“As I said back at the time, I took Eddie on his word. We’ve got to be a game of integrity and a team of integrity, and we took Eddie on his word. We finished our employment obligations on the 25th of November, and we’re looking forward to 2024,” Waugh said.

“We’ve got a good relationship with all national unions. We’ve played a lot of test matches with Japan and we look forward to continuing that strong partnership. I’m not going to buy into speculation of what may have occurred, we’re moving forward and look forward to putting all of those new appointments in place and building a really strong culture for the Wallabies going forward.”

Jones’ resignation saw Rugby Australia in the surprise position of having to find a new head coach for both of their top national teams, with Wallaroos’ coach Jay Tregonning’s contract ending at the end of this season after two years in charge.

Tregonning has done a great job at the helm of the side, leading them to a third-placed finish in this year’s WXV1 tournament, behind France and Canada, during which they beat World No. 3 France and Wales.

However, his role was a part-time position, which was one of the frustrations behind a social media protest by Wallaroos players about being under-resourced made in August. RA announced a new women’s high performance manager just days later, and the role of head coach will be fulltime in 2024.

“We’re moving forward with hopefully announcing a new head coach of the Wallaroos this week, a fulltime new director of high performance, and then in the market for a new head coach of the Wallabies,” Waugh said.

The Roar reports former England halfback Jo Yapp is set to be appointed as Tregonning’s successor.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission