Eddie Jones reveals the REAL reason he hit reporters with a stunning rant at the ‘worst press conference ever’ as the Wallabies jetted out for the World Cup in France

Eddie Jones has revealed why he lashed out at a string of reporters in sensational scenes at Sydney airport earlier this month as the Wallabies prepared to fly to France for the World Cup.

The Australian coach is known for his mind games – and when questioned at the ‘worst press conference ever’, the 63-year-old admitted it was a deliberate attempt to divert pressure from his pressured side.

“It was kind of fun, I wanted to protect the team,” Jones said on Thursday.

“We have a young group of players and we want them to feel that there are people behind them.

‘I never regret it. I try to be as honest as possible, to be honest about my feelings and emotions, and that’s how I felt at the time.’

Jones also found plenty of positives in the final 41-17 starting defeat to France, and was convinced his team ‘had their moments’ against the World Cup hosts.

“It’s all about consistency, about getting the simple things right,” he told 2GB Radio.

‘At the moment we don’t have the capacity for that, but we are slowly building up.

“We just need to be more consistent and that comes from a little bit of mental toughness, it comes from the team fighting together in difficult situations and it comes from our ability to replicate skills under pressure.

“Training is our way of improving and I can tell you that we are training at the absolute optimum level, and we will reach the World Cup and we will be in good shape.”

In extraordinary scenes on August 18, Jones gave a fiery outburst to a group of journalists at Sydney airport, claiming he couldn’t believe ‘the level of negativity’ from the media towards him in the run-up to the World Cup.

His explosive diatribe followed a key member of his staff, Brad Davis, who resigned for personal reasons hours before the Wallabies were due to leave for France.

Entering the tournament, Jones’ side have been winless in their last five games, with the 63-year-old yet to secure a win since taking over from Dave Rennie in January.

Jones, who stepped down from his role as England head coach in December, questioned his roster of squads for the upcoming tournament.

He raised eyebrows when he chose to omit Quade Cooper and Michael Hooper from his World Cup squad, two of Australia’s most talented and experienced players in the last decade.

“I can’t believe the level of negativity here, guys,” Jones told the assembled reporters.

“I know what’s wrong with Australian rugby and you’re part of the problem because you’re so damn negative about everything.

“We’re going to a World Cup that you think we can’t win. You think the selection process is bad because the players are complaining, so I apologize for that. We’ll go out there and do our best, guys. So if you don’t have anything positive to say, don’t ask.’

Jones, wearing an Akubra hat like his cinema name Indiana Jones, fired at the media saying, “Thanks for the worst press conference I’ve ever had in world rugby. Well done, the worst I’ve ever seen.’

Specifically, a journalist asked him what strengths he sees in his side, to which he replied sarcastically, “Nothing, mate. We are terrible.

“I love this negativity, it’s fantastic. I love it, I love it – keep going, keep going, keep going, keep going, keep going.’

When asked about rumors that Cooper had ignored the Australian boss after being overlooked, Jones admitted he had tried to contact the fly-half but to no avail.

“I’ve tried calling him, but I can’t get a hold of him,” he said.

“If I call them and they don’t call back, what do you want me to do?”

The outburst comes after the Australian made a shocking admission about his side’s status at a private meeting earlier this August, claiming Australian rugby was “miles from where it needed to be”.

Jones also recently accused a reporter of being a ‘smartarse’ after his side’s 43-12 defeat to South Africa earlier this July.

“Eddie, last week you expressed your disappointment at not playing against the first-choice Springboks side. Is that a little relief now?’ asked the bold journalist.

The former Japan coach replied: ‘South Africans are good at winning. You don’t have to be smart, mate.

“We really got beaten today by a Springboks team that the old friend (reporter) calls the B team, right? I never knew there was a Springboks team called the B team.”

Jones left England last year after a seven-year spell, with his final calendar year in charge being England’s worst 12 months since 2008, with a record of six defeats, one draw and five wins.

Speaking exclusively to Mail Sport in January, Jones claimed he knew England would sack him even while he was still in charge.

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Rugby Australia, meanwhile, confirmed that Davis, a former Castleford Tigers and Wakefield Trinity Wildcats player, stepped aside from the Wallabies squad to deal with a personal matter.

Davis was recruited by Jones from the London Irish Rugby Club where he had worked as a defensive coach after working for a string of other major rugby clubs in England having played 215 games in Super League.

His departure has left the Wallabies looking for a new attacking coach for the World Cup campaign, which has not started well for Jones.

The Wallabies lost all four matches in the Rugby Championship, including back-to-back defeats to New Zealand as the All Blacks secured another Bledisloe Cup.

It was followed by Paris’ 41–17 defeat to France.

Will Skelton is the new captain, with rising halfback Tate McDermott deputizing for Skelton.

Australia’s first World Cup match is against Georgia on September 10 at 2am AEST.