Coaching greats Phil Gould and Eddie Jones compare sporting journeys in the NRL and world rugby

Two of the best minds in Australian sport recently sat down to reflect on their impressive personal journeys in the NRL and world rugby respectively.

Phil Gould coached the Bulldogs (1988) and Panthers (1991) to NRL premiership glory and remains one of the most respected figures in the code as a senior manager at Canterbury, while Eddie Jones came within a He went on to win the 2003 World Cup on home soil.

It took an extra-time goal from England’s Jonny Wilkinson to deny the former New South Wales hooker the chance to lift the Webb Ellis trophy as head coach.

Jones, 63, enjoyed a distinguished career with clipboard in hand, helping South Africa, Japan and England at international level.

He was recently given a daunting task that he has accepted with typical enthusiasm: guiding the Wallabies to World Cup glory this September in France.

Wallabies manager Eddie Jones recently sat down with NRL identity Phil Gould to compare their respective careers.

Gould, 65, is also widely regarded as the best NSW Blues coach at the State of Origin stadium since 1980.

The pair traded stories in a recent interview for Stan Sport, and their mutual respect was obvious.

In an engaging on-camera chat, the pair traded stories about their transition from the playing ranks to coaching, as well as high-level management.

Jones shocked Gould after revealing that the Australian Rugby Union ‘had’ Immortal Andrew Johns defecting from the NRL in 2005, only for the deal to fall apart at the last moment.

At the time, other ARU officials raised concerns about Johns’ neck injury and rumored drug use.

“We had Andrew…he was coming,” Jones told Gould. It would have made a big difference.

Gould was shocked to hear Eddie Jones declare Immortal Andrew Johns rugby league league a “done deal” in terms of defecting to the ARU in 2005; the move never materialized.

Rabbitohs and NSW striker Cameron Murray played rugby as a boy at school, and has a big fan in Wallabies manager Eddie Jones.

Roosters, NSW and Australian star Angus Crichton is another player on Jones’s rumored blacklist

‘(Billy Slater) would have been helpful, and [current Rabbitohs star] Cameron Murray would be a great center.

Jones was the driving force when it came to stealing Mat Rogers, Lote Tuqiri and Wendell Sailor from the NRL in his first spell in charge of the Wallabies between 2001 and 2005.

He has also made no secret of his admiration for the likes of Joseph Sua’ali’i and his Sydney Roosters teammate Angus Crichton.

Both were school rugby stars in Sydney in the GPS schoolboys competition before signing deals with the NRL as teenagers.