Rugby: Eddie Jones officially resigned by the Australian Federation
Less than ten months after returning to captain the Wallabies, Eddie Jones has stepped down, 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 position on 25 November,” the union wrote in a press release.
This weekend, Australian media announced the resignation of the 63-year-old Australian technician.
Arriving at the end of January to replace New Zealander Dave Rennie at the helm of the Wallabies, Jones was hailed as a savior, returning to the squad he had already managed from 2001 to 2005, a stint that featured the 2003 World Cup Final, lost to England.
Stated goal? Winning the third world title after winning it in 1991 and 1999.
“We want to restore pride in Australian rugby. That’s the most important thing,” he said during his first press conference in his new kit as the Wallabies’ “head coach.”
He continued: “I am not the Messiah, but we must win the World Cup.”
The sequel was not up to par. After losing to Fiji (22-15), and being beaten by Wales (40-6), the Wallabies, strongly revamped before the World Cup, were unable to escape from Group C. It is unheard of in ten World Cups and a cause for great concern as Australia will stage the next World Cup in 2027.
In all, the former England and Japan coach starts with just two wins in nine matches.
– ‘No job offers’ –
Eddie Jones was quoted by daily newspaper The Australian on Sunday as saying he would resign “without any regrets” and justified his departure by explaining in particular that the developments he wanted at the senior level in Australia were being implemented too slowly.
He assured the newspaper, “I am disappointed with this World Cup. I am disappointed that what we wanted to do to change the system cannot be done in the short term.”
It was announced even before the start of the World Cup that he was leaving for Japan, where he coached between 2012 and 2015. Eddie Jones denied these accusations several times, and reconfirmed in mid-October, in the middle of the World Cup, his “link”. “For Australian rugby.
In The Australian columns, he said he had “no job offers” but expressed a desire to coach an international team again “for one more round”.
Jones, who currently lives in Great Britain, adds: “I live separately from my wife because she lives in Japan. I want to spend some time with her. I want to stay married. I am sixty-three years old, and I don’t want a divorce.” – Barbarians coach against Wales, to the Australian.
The Australian Football Association thanks him “for his dedication to the Wallabies in 2023 and wishes him the best in his future endeavours.”
She adds that his successor will be named “in due course.”