September 27, 2023 — 4.05pm
The smoking ruin that is Australia’s World Cup campaign has left Rugby Australia in the invidious position of having to stick with a disloyal coach or gamble on the unknown to rebuild the shattered Wallabies.
The Herald has been right across this ongoing train wreck from the moment Rugby Australia sacked Wallabies coach Dave Rennie in January in favour of Eddie Jones. Our coverage culminated in reporter Tom Decent’s extraordinary revelation this week that Jones had been secretly interviewed by Japanese rugby officials to take over as the country’s head coach just days before our World Cup campaign started in France.
The story went off like a bomb within Rugby Australia, the Wallabies camp in France, and among long-suffering fans. As the Herald’s chief sports writer Andrew Webster observed: “Almost every story in the sporting wash cycle these days is considered a bombshell revelation but this, oh lordy lord, really is a serious bombshell revelation.”
The story of Jones’ Japanese indiscretion has not been denied. When we put the story to him over the weekend, he declined to comment but through a spokesperson asked us to reiterate his position from last week that there was no truth to similar reports from Japanese media. He was subsequently asked to give his side of the story but offered no answers. Instead, he fudged and raged.
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Jones’ flirtation makes it impossible for him to continue as the national coach. One year into a five-year contract, Jones has completely undermined his authority with his team. He cannot credibly call for their commitment after being caught in a secret tryst with the opposition. Add to that, seven losses out of eight Tests under his command and the failure to get to the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time in the team’s history. Good riddance would be a good outcome.
This week’s record 40-6 loss to Wales in France underscores the mess that has become Rugby Australia.
Rugby has been floundering in recent times due to falling popularity courtesy of the disconnect between schoolboy rugby, club rugby and Super Rugby. And, unlike other football codes, Rugby Australia has been tardy to expand its brand and properly develop and fund women’s teams.
In May 2020, the hugely successful Sydney businessman Hamish McLennan was named chair of Rugby Australia in an attempt to turn the code’s fortunes. His biggest reform was to appoint Jones as coach. Apart from developing a winning side, promoting the game was part of Jones’ remit.
How’s that been going? Before Jones’ return to the fold, television audiences for rugby matches had been growing and Rugby Australia managed to return to a surplus in the 2022 annual report, but his record of losses and the World Cup result jeopardises such gains.
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So, who in the Rugby Australia hierarchy is to pay the penalty for this pathetic rout? Jones has copped the flak so far. Phil Waugh, Rugby Australia’s CEO, only came on board in June so evades the blame. That leaves McLennan.
Few people are willing to openly criticise the Rugby Australia chairman, but many are making unkind remarks about his role in the debacle behind his back. The challenge confronting McLennan after this week is what, if any, sponsors would wish to be associated with the Wallabies in their current guise? Jones was his brainwave, and it was his brief to rescue rugby from the administration-induced doldrums with a winning team that would attract crowds, coverage and television ratings.
Despite his efforts, the World Cup debacle exposes the rot that has returned. McLennan has been unable to fix Rugby Australia and for the good of the game should consider joining Jones on the way out.
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