- Eddie Jones now coaches the Japanese national team
- Still a topic of conversation this week in Britain
- Jones previously coached England and Wallabies
The specter of Eddie Jones is gone but not forgotten and clearly still haunts and fascinates some Wallabies players.
While Jones’ second spell in charge of Australia was unfortunate, he remained a talking point at the Wallabies’ first press conference ahead of Saturday’s Test against England – which Jones also coached – at Twickenham.
Back at Jones’ old training ground in Teddington, Wallabies duo Samu Kerevi and Lukhan Salakaia-Loto sang the praises of their new coach Joe Schmidt ahead of the opener of their Grand Slam tour.
Yet there was still time to broach the subject of Jones’s controversial regimes, a year after he resigned from the Wallabies and a few years after being sacked by England.
That was mainly because the former England scrum-half has revisited memories of Jones, who now oversees Japan, in Danny Care’s new autobiography.
He explosively suggested during the Aussie’s seven-year rule that “everyone was terrified of him” and that he ruled by fear.
However, Care never concealed his admiration for Jones as a coach and Kerevi was happy to jump to the 64-year-old’s defense
“I wouldn’t say terrifying,” Kerevi shrugged when asked about life under Jones.
Former coach Eddie Jones (pictured) clearly still haunts and fascinates some Wallabies players
Wallabies center Samu Kerevi ‘wasn’t terrified’ of Jones and said he admired his ‘pursuit of excellence’
“I guess it’s how you take it. I grew up in a different culture than what rugby is now.
“The pursuit of excellence puts pressure on everyone, and I think that’s exactly how Eddie is.
‘I have a good relationship with Eddie. I think his pressure was not only on the players, but also on the staff. I think that’s probably something [England’s] Danny Care is talking about.
‘But it just depends on how you receive it. Do you thrive under it? I don’t think we got the results we got with Eddie last year. But our focus now is on Joe and the team this year. That’s why I wish Eddie all the best.’
Salakaia-Loto is also enjoying life under Schmidt.
“As players it was surreal. He clearly has the points on the board and his resume shows the success he has had as a coach and the influence he can have on teams,” the lock said.
‘And he certainly had that influence on us this year. I think his attention to detail around the game, the way he hammers home the importance of the fundamentals and the basic skills that we need to perform well to be a successful team, is something that has been driven quite hard.
“I think guys who have been involved before will say it’s been a breath of fresh air here for everyone involved, and we’re only going to get better and thrive under someone like Joe.”
Meanwhile, former Wallabies center Morgan Turinui tips Joseph Suaalii as the star England.
He believes the ex-Roosters NRL star will be “an outstanding success” and come off the bench.
Australia take on England from 2.10am AEDT on Sunday, November 10, live on Stan Sport.