Eddie Jones: 'I am a much better coach than I was this time last year'
Eddie Jones' time with the Wallabies and Rugby Australia officially ends on November 25, but the coach won't be waiting until then to field offers for his services in 2024.
And it won't be the Eddie of old his next employer lands, with the stinging reality of Australia's first-ever Rugby World Cup pool stage exit fresh in mind, Jones claims to be much better for his 2023 experience.
It was a 2023 that couldn't have gone much worse for Rugby Australia, again struggling to make up any ground against New Zealand in Super Rugby Pacific and finishing the international season with just two wins from nine games, watching the Rugby World Cup knockout stages from home.
One of the drama's that plagued the final fixtures of the year was rumours of Jones' disloyalty in taking a meeting with Japan Rugby over the Brave Blossoms head coaching role that Jamie Joseph vacated at the end of the 2023 campaign.
“Obviously I want to coach,” Jones told The Australian. “I’m looking for a job now.
"If Japan did come knocking I’d definitely chat to them and I’ve had a couple of other countries approach me. There’s a club in Europe interested so I would expect by January I’ll be working again.
“Australia has been a massive disappointment for me – and all this stuff about Japan like, why would I take the youngest squad to the World Cup? So we had the youngest team in the World Cup, right, why would I do that? Why would I do that if I had no intention of staying on? I am not an idiot – I had the intention of staying on. For the play that I had, it then had to have the (high performance) system change in place otherwise we are going to have more of the same.”
Jones went on to not rule out informal contact with Japan, suggesting there was perhaps an introductory conversation between the two parties but nothing that progressed the relationship significantly.
“I’ve had no formal talks with them (Japan), everyone knows that discussions take place, like I’ve had a discussion this morning with the club, and that doesn’t mean I’m taking the job as well, that doesn’t mean I’m being disloyal to what I’m doing now,” Jones said.
“Because there’s agents in the world that are continually ringing up. They make money by connecting people. I haven’t done anything formal. I haven’t done anything untoward at all or had a formal approach in Japan … nothing’s changed in that regard.
“I’m looking for a job now, like I’m unemployed now. So yeah, I need to look for a job and if that’s a sin … then that’s a terrible thing I am doing.”
There are positions open at the international and club level; the aforementioned Japan role as well as a Top 14 opportunity may be the best suited to Jones' pockets, but the United States of America, Fiji and Tonga also hold outside odds on securing the 63-year-old's services.
Jones was the eldest statesman of his Tier one counterparts at the recent Rugby World Cup, but insists - despite the historically disappointing year - that like a fine wine, he's only improving with age.
“As I’ve got the energy to do it, I’ll keep doing (coaching),” he said. “But as you know, in terms of experience and learning, the older you get, the better coach you are.
“I am a much better coach than I was this time last year. I’ve learnt a lot from Australia. I’ve learned some things I shouldn’t have done, some things I didn’t do well and I’ll be a better coach in the next job that I do.”
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> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
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