NRL club bosses dismiss Eddie Jones’ plans to lure rugby league’s biggest stars to rugby union

NRL clubs believe Rugby Australia does not pose a threat to the code and have dismissed Eddie Jones’ attempts to drive players away from rugby league as nothing to worry about.

Since he replaced Dave Rennie in charge of the Wallabies in January, Jones has optimistically suggested that he could storm the league. to convince some of the game’s biggest stars to make a move to rugby union.

But the vast majority of NRL club executives believe their attempts are doomed, according to a new survey by the Sydney Morning Herald.

Around 80 per cent of NRL CEOs and club presidents said Jones and Rugby Australia did not pose a threat to drive players away from the NRL.

The survey covered all 34 CEOs and club presidents of the 17 NRL clubs with a total of 25 executives responding.

Eddie Jones has claimed that he will attack the NRL to attract players to the rugby union.

NRL supremo Peter V’landys has repeatedly shut down Jones’ plans in the past two months.

In his first spell in charge of the Wallabies between 2001 and 2005, he managed code-switching NRL stars Wendell Sailor, Lote Tuqiri and Mat Rogers.

NRL clubs have picked up players such as Cameron Murray, Kalyn Ponga and Joseph Joseph Suaalii despite having made it to the junior level of rugby clubs.

The latter has become one of Rugby Australia’s main targets as his contract with the Sydney Roosters expires in 2024.

Manly star Tolu Koula and Parramatta center Will Penisini are also on the Wallabies’ radar, with their deals expiring at the end of 2024 and 2025 respectively.

Speaking in January, Jones insisted that developing players was the priority, but revealed that Rugby Australia was ready to flex its financial muscles ahead of the British and Irish Lions tour in 2025 and a Rugby World Cup at home to follow two years later.

“We could get some of the players who have left to play rugby league and wear different colours, and have better colours,” he said.

“I think the president [Hamish McLennan] he is very interested in pinching some on the other side.

Unsurprisingly, their plans were quickly canceled by Australian Rugby League Commission Chairman Peter V’Landys.

In a dig at the disparity between the amount of time the ball spends in play in rugby compared to league, the NRL supremo noted that players switching to the union “can take their mobile phone with them in the field because they have 20 minutes to tweet, Instagram or TikTok’.

Jones pushed back against the criticism, urging V’Landys to ‘get out of the TAB’, and suggested that reviving public interest in rugby union would lead to more coverage, which in turn could see the union outshine the NRL.

But in a lengthy one-on-one conversation with Bulldogs supremo Phil Gould, filmed for Stan Sports last month, the Wallabies coach lamented the brain drain that has blighted the union for the past decade.

Despite his plans to attract NRL stars to rugby, Jones recognized that the union needed to stem the haemorrhage of talent to begin with.

Rugby Australia has listed Joseph Suaalii as one of its top targets

Manly star Tolu Koula (left) and Eels center Will Penisini (right) are also on the Wallabies’ radar.

“The clubs have stayed strong, but there hasn’t been that evolution to identify talent and bring that talent in,” he told Gould.

“That’s why rugby league is killing rugby in that age group at the moment.”

‘At some point, someone strategic has to come in and say, “Enough is enough, and this is what we have to do.”

“As you know, it always costs money to make that sacrifice to spend that money to make the game right ten years from now.”