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Eddie Jones: 'Imagine being in the first team that's beaten South Africa in Pretoria'
By AAP
Eddie Jones is challenging the Wallabies to seize the moment and pen a chapter in rugby's history books with a watershed win over the Springboks in Pretoria.
The Wallabies flew out for South Africa on Friday with Jones promising an exciting new "Australian style" ahead of the side's first Test of the all-important World Cup year and first game under his second tenure as national coach.
Australia have lost all previous seven Tests at Loftus Versfeld stretching back to 1963, but Jones couldn't care less ahead of the Wallabies' latest date with destiny next Saturday.
"This is a game about us. We want to put a new standard of Wallaby rugby forward. We want to set the tone for our own campaign. It's about us," he said at Sydney airport.
"It's a new team and we want to play a different way, an Australian style of rugby, and the players have bought in on it. They're training really well so we're looking forward to the challenge."
Undaunted by the imposing, lung-busting challenge on the highveld, Jones is selling the season-opening Rugby Championship encounter with the world champion Springboks to his charges as "just a great opportunity".
"Imagine being in the first team that's beaten South Africa in Pretoria. Imagine being a part of that team," said the master motivator.
"We've spoken about it since April. It's an opportunity to create history here and we want to be the first team that does it.
"So they've prepared well this week. We've got a couple of days now where you've got to adjust to a different time zone so that's important.
"Anywhere you go, it's different and you've just got to be a team that adapts, finds a way to be at your best and find a way to win. Where there's a Wallaby, there's a way."
While acknowledging the physical test facing the Wallabies, Jones insists busting the 60-year hoodoo in Pretoria is mostly in the head.
"Firstly you've got to think you can win," he said.
"The most important thing is to have the mindset that you can win. So you've got to be thinking that and we're 100 per cent committed to winning.
"And then you've got to execute a game plan to win enough possession, push them to the other end of the field and keep them under pressure.
"Any way you can - just get up the other end of the field. Whether you run, pass, kick, it doesn't matter which way you get up there as long as you get up their end of the field.
"The one thing I know is it's very hard to score from behind your try line."
Wallabies squad members Andrew Kellaway (hamstring), Jordan Petaia (hand), Matt Philip (calf) and Langi Gleeson (leg) failed to make the trip.
"So they'll get ready for Argentina or New Zealand, depending on their progress," Jones said.
"But everybody else is on the plane and at this stage available for selection."
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Latest Comments
There's no easy fix here. From a geography standpoint, South Africa is kind of on an island alone in the rugby world, much like Argentina.
They don't have enough talent to have a top tier domestic league of their own, and it won't support the union financially. Best case you could hope for would be the five extant franchises (including Cheetahs) and perhaps a team from Namimbia. Gives you a 6 team league, that's not enough. Plus again, it's just not financially sustainable either.
At the same time, it's not really great for them to be involved in either the European or the Pacific rugby set up. That said, as bad as the travel is, at least Europe makes more sense from a time zone perspective. I still think it's the least bad option. Also has done wonders for the URC.
I don't think though, that it makes very much sense to have 4 teams from the URC excluded from European qualification. Not to mention, being able to compete in the Champions Cup was a big draw for the South African clubs anyway.
So yeah, I don't really see a change that makes more sense than the less than ideal situation that already exists.
Go to commentsMoriaty refused to play for wales also he’s injured, France’s is being coy about wales, North in the dark but Sam David and jerad are you joking their not good enough
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