SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia coach Eddie Jones is looking to put together a crew of assistant coaches to assist him on what he likened to a “smash and grab” raid at the World Cup in France later this year.
Jones took over from the sacked Dave Rennie last month but, despite the World Cup being so close, has brought on board no backroom staff since his appointment.
The 63-year-old, who was knocked back this week by former New Zealand rugby league coach Michael Maguire, said he was looking for specific skills for a specific task.
“In a lot of ways, we’ve got time because as a coaching team, we need to be together probably for the last six or eight weeks of Super Rugby, where selection is going to become important,” Jones told reporters at Wednesday’s Super Rugby Pacific launch.
“We’ve got a bit of a smash and grab job so we need people who can do a smash and grab job. It’s nine and a half months and there’s a beautiful jewellery store around the corner.
“We’ve got to get four or five coaches that can work together to get in there, steal the trophy and get out without getting caught.”
Jones also had a message for aspirant Wallabies ahead of the next week’s start to the provincial competition, which no Australian side has won since the New South Wales Waratahs in 2014.
“Play tough mate,” he said. “Play tough, play hard, play for your teams mates and keep on finding the best in yourself.
“The expectation is they play well and consistently play well. It’d be nice to have an Australian side win the Super Rugby final.”
Jones said he would not be following the New Zealand or Irish model by dictating the style of play for the Australian teams in Super Rugby.
“We don’t tell the Super teams how to play,” he said.
“We have a relationship with the Super Rugby coaches but I want them to play the style they want to play.
“What I want to see is that the players play with that toughness, that they want to get better, they want to help their team mates in difficult situations.”
Australia will play Wales, Fiji, Georgia and Portugal in Pool C at the World Cup, which kicks off on Sept. 8.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Stephen Coates)
