Eddie Jones: What Will Skelton does better than anyone else

Jared Wright
Wallabies lock Will Skelton and an inset of Eddie Jones.

Wallabies lock Will Skelton and an inset of Eddie Jones.

The battle between Eben Etzebeth and Will Skelton is one that Japan head coach Eddie Jones is eagerly looking forward to when the Springboks and Wallabies collide at Ellis Park.

Both players are highly respected for their ability at the highest level, and Jones has hailed them as the best heavyweights in the world.

The veteran head coach holds both players in high regard, having worked with and against the pair throughout his career. In fact, it was Skelton whom Jones turned to when he named his Wallabies‘ captain for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Eben Etzebeth v Will Skelton

While he has not retained the captain’s armband under Joe Schmidt, he remains a respected player in the squad with Tom Hooper singing his praises ahead of the clash against the Springboks this weekend.

“He’s an enforcer, and that’s what he’s been doing for a long time now in the beautiful sport of rugby,” he said.

“He’s been, for want of a better word, he loves being that grub. He loves taking it to teams physically and making the gentleman’s game a bit more exciting.

“We love playing with him and he’s just a physical presence. I’ve never felt so small when I go over at the end of the game and give him a big hug, I feel like a little kid again. So, it’s always good.”

Jones is licking his lips at the prospect of seeing Skelton and Etzebeth going toe-to-toe, a battle he believes that renowned sports promoter Eddie Hearn would happily promote.

In his latest Planet Rugby column, the coach also detailed what sets Skelton apart from other second-row forwards.

“Looking ahead to Saturday, the biggest match-up I’m looking forward to is Will Skelton v Eben Etzebeth. This is a bout that Eddie Hearn would be pleased to promote- the two best heavyweights in the world going toe to toe!” Jones wrote.

“Knowing them both well, they’ll be bouncing off the walls in training this week, they’ll want to tear pieces out of each other on Saturday and no quarter will be given by either man.

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Wallabies’ threat

“Will is key to the Wallabies. What he does better than anyone else is get his head and shoulders through contact and out the other side to win the collision and to set up quick ball. Taniela Tupou does this too, but he’ll have his hands full dealing with the Bok scrum.”

South Africa have one of the most devastating forward packs in the world. While Jones states that the Wallabies will have a tough time dealing with the Boks’ prowess, he believes that Schmidt’s charges do pose a major threat themselves on Tupou and Skelton’s side of the scrum

He added: “The Wallabies will have some 297kg on their tighthead side- and that’s before breakfast! And that will be a challenge in itself, even for a side as good in the setpiece as the Boks.”

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