1 month ago
Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh has revealed that Eddie Jones' scathing disapproval of 3 Wallabies legends was 'completely unfair' aft going abstracted ways with nan coach.
Jones's 2nd stint arsenic Wallabies mentor was an unequivocal disaster, pinch conscionable 2 wins astatine nan World Cup resulting successful Australia missing nan 4th finals for nan first clip ever.
Before he quit, Jones declared that Wallabies greats Michael Hooper, Quade Cooper and Bernard Foley were not nan correct benignant of 'role models' for nan players successful nan nationalist broadside - and arsenic acold arsenic Waugh is concerned, that crossed nan line.
'I deliberation it's a wholly unfair comment,' nan rugby leader said.
'Across Michael Hooper, Quade Cooper, Bernard Foley, I deliberation there's 280-300 Test matches betwixt those three. They've each put their assemblage connected nan statement complete a agelong play of clip and are domiciled models to not conscionable their peers but young boys and girls coming done nan system.
Eddie Jones did galore things to infuriate Aussie fans - but his comments astir 3 Wallabies legends crossed nan statement arsenic acold arsenic nan CEO of Rugby Australia is concerned
Rugby leader and Wallabies awesome Phil Waugh (pictured) lashed retired astatine Jones complete his stance connected Michael Hooper, Quade Cooper and Bernard Foley
'So I deliberation it is an perfectly unfair remark towards those players, fixed what they've contributed to rugby.'
Waugh concedes nan Wallabies' nonaccomplishment to advancement retired of nan group stages for nan first clip successful World Cup history is unacceptable for each stakeholders successful nan game.
'The performances of nan Wallabies - and that's our shopfront model - haven't been bully enough,' he said aft confirming Eddie Jones's shambolic 10-month reign was over.
'So for each supporters, we consciousness nan pain. We consciousness that responsibility, we consciousness for illustration we've fto them down.
'I apologise and I've done that a number of times, conscionable astir nan capacity because it has been bitterly disappointing.
'Now we request to move forward, pinch nan aforesaid direction, nan aforesaid imagination and nan aforesaid passion.
'We've sewage a batch of crushed to make up, pinch building spot pinch our stakeholders, pinch nan community.'
And moving guardant doesn't mean rushing into appointing Jones's replacement.
Waugh pointed retired that nan Wallabies legends (Michael Hooper, left, and Quade Cooper pictured) person played hundreds of Tests betwixt them and are good domiciled models
Waugh says Rugby Australia won't beryllium rushing into appointing Jones's replacement arsenic nan codification struggles to retrieve from his shocking stint astatine nan helm
'Look, it's each very raw. I deliberation everyone's a candidate,' Waugh said aft nan likes of outgoing All Blacks coach Ian Foster, ex-Wallabies leader Michael Cheika and erstwhile Australian assistants Stephen Larkham and Dan McKellar's names were thrown up.
'We're unfastened to getting nan champion coach for our strategy and our squad successful position of precocious quality.
'We want to make judge that we get nan correct sheet together. Once we get that sheet together, past tally a process. Our adjacent Test is not till July adjacent year.
'So we person time.'
While acknowledging RA remains successful a challenging financial position, which is why Jones opted to jump ship, Waugh said hosting nan British and Irish Lions successful 2025, nan men's World Cup successful 2027 and nan women's world showpiece successful 2029 would time off nan governing assemblage beardown again.
'There are a batch of bully things occurring,' said nan retired great.
'We won nan World Cup hosting authorities for '27 and '29, nan Wallaroos hit France, a top-three team, for nan first clip ever connected Saturday night, nan sevens teams proceed to succeed.
'There's a batch of awesome activity successful nan organization games. So rugby is healthy.
'(But) we request to beryllium winning betwixt World Cups and not trust purely connected World Cup success.'
Waugh apologised to rugby fans astir nan team's 'bitterly disappointing' capacity nether Jones, who only won 2 of 9 Tests while successful complaint of nan broadside for nan 2nd time
Despite nan Wallabies slumping to an all-time debased of No.10 successful nan rankings aft beating only minnows Georgia and Portugal successful a woeful two-from-nine Test grounds nether Jones this year, Waugh is assured a turnaround is imminent.
'We saw nan capacity successful Dunedin against nan All Blacks for 65 minutes wherever we were successful front,' he said of Australia's 23-20 nonaccomplishment to New Zealand 3 weeks earlier nan World Cup.
'The All Blacks pushed nan Springboks and perchance could person won nan World Cup final.
'So my position connected each these aspects is you're ne'er arsenic acold distant arsenic you consciousness for illustration you mightiness beryllium and you're ne'er arsenic acold up arsenic you consciousness for illustration you mightiness beryllium erstwhile you're winning.
'So successful position of having nary direction, I'd powerfully conflict that because I do deliberation we've sewage a very beardown direction, a very beardown vision.'
It is unclear if Jones will person immoderate pay-out.
'We've sewage a deed of merchandise pinch Eddie and nan logic why we person taken immoderate clip to get to our announcement retired is because we were moving done that deed of release,' Waugh said.
'I deliberation I've been reasonably transparent astir nan truth that Rugby Australia has ended up successful a very bully business financially done nan separation.'
