Less than ten months after his return to the helm of the Wallabies, Eddie Jones threw in the towel, drawing lessons from the historic elimination of the Australian XV before the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup. “Rugby Australia can confirm that it has accepted the resignation of Wallabies coach Eddie Jones and that he will leave his role on November 25,” the federation wrote in a press release. The resignation of the Australian technician, aged 63, was announced this weekend by the Australian media.
Arriving at the end of January to replace New Zealander Dave Rennie at the head of the Wallabies, Jones was welcomed as a savior, returning to a selection that he had already managed from 2001 to 2005, a mandate marked by a 2003 World Cup final, lost to England.
The stated objective? Win a third world title after the coronations of 1991 and 1999. “We want to restore pride to Australian rugby. “It’s the most important thing,” he said during the first press conference he gave in his new role as Wallabies head coach. “I’m not the Messiah,” he continued, but “we have to win the World Cup.”
Two wins in nine matches
The sequel was not up to par. Beaten by Fiji (22-15), outclassed by Wales (40-6), its Wallabies team, strongly renewed before the World Cup, did not manage to escape from Group C. Unheard of in ten editions of the World Cup and a reason for great concern as Australia will organize the next World Cup, in 2027. In total, the former coach of England and Japan leaves with a record of only two victories in nine matches .
Quoted Sunday by the daily The Australian, Eddie Jones said he was resigning with “no regrets” and justified his departure by explaining in particular that the developments he wanted for the high level in Australia were being implemented too slowly. “I am disappointed with this World Cup. I am disappointed because what we wanted to do to change the system could not be done in the short term,” he assures the daily.
A departure for Japan?
Announced even before the start of the World Cup, he was leaving for Japan, which he coached between 2012 and 2015, Eddie Jones had denied these allegations several times, reaffirming in mid-October, in the middle of the World Cup, his “attachment” to Australian rugby. .
In the columns of The Australian, he said he had “no job offers” but expressed his wish to coach an international team again “for an additional cycle”.
“I live apart from my wife because she lives in Japan. I want to spend some time with her. I want to stay married. At 63, I don’t want to divorce,” Jones, currently in Great Britain to co-train the Barbarians against Wales, adds to The Australian. The Australian federation thanks him “for his dedication to the Wallabies in 2023 and wishes him the best in his future endeavors”. His successor, she adds, will be named “in due time”.