State of the Nation: Eddie Jones and Australia’s shambolic Rugby World Cup

Jared Wright 03 Nov 2023 10:12 PM

Former Australia head coach Eddie Jones and Wallabies players Samu Kerevi and Mark Nawaqanitawase during the Rugby World Cup.

Now that the dust has settled on another memorable Rugby World Cup, we bring you our State of the Nations pieces. Next up, it’s Eddie Jones’ Australia.

Well, what was Jones’ Australia? Where do we start? The former England head coach’s return to the Wallabies promised so much and delivered so little.

His press gatherings and adverts in the build-up to and during the Rugby World Cup were certainly entertaining at times, but they could not distract from the shambolic run of results and mysterious performances.

In the end, it was disappointing and ended in embarrassment, with Jones reportedly being interviewed by the Japanese Rugby Union before the tournament – something he still strongly denies – a first loss to Fiji in 69 years and their earliest-ever exit from a Rugby World Cup.

Tournament summary

Quite frankly, and I think Wallabies‘ fans will agree, the best part of Australia’s Rugby World Cup campaign is that it is over.

Jones’ charges kicked off the tournament with a feel-good 35-15 bonus victory over Georgia, with Ben Donaldson earning his first start at full-back and taking the opportunity with both hands in a 25-point player-of-the-match shift. After five straight losses under Jones, the Wallabies had finally won a match, and hope of a “Smash and Grab” in France was on the table again. But it is the hope that kills you.

It was downhill from there as Fiji ended any chance of a winning streak, delivering a masterful display of game management and ruthlessness, securing a 22-15 victory.

🇦🇺🇫🇯 FIJI HAVE BEATEN THE WALLABIES! #AUSvFIJ #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/rXsUZsn8tu

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) September 17, 2023

After that defeat, attention turned to Wales, and Jones was bullish, stating, “I’ve got no doubt we’ll win on Sunday.” His words were not prophetic as Warren Gatland’s charges emphatically thumped Australia 40-6.

With just one game left to play, the Wallabies faced the very real prospect that they would be departing France early, and some fans even feared a loss to tier-two opponents Portugal. The Australian players dusted themselves off from the humbling dished out by Wales and ran in five tries in an entertaining fixture against Portugal, securing a 34-14 win to keep their incredibly thin hopes of staying in France a bit longer alive.

Jones and his charges were then left with the awkward position of spending one more week in training in France in the hope that Fiji would fail and they were gifted a place in the quarter-finals. It was not to be, as they became the first Wallabies side not to progress out of the pool stages of a World Cup.

Standout players

While the results were disappointing, there were some standout performers in the youngest Wallabies squad sent to a World Cup, namely the brilliant loosehead prop Angus Bell. The livewire 23-year-old was simply sublime. He was brilliant in the scrums, taking the Georgians to task, gained over 70 metres from his carries and thundered into several tackles. The next Wallabies head coach has a world-class prop in their stocks going forward.

Staying in the pack and Jones did unearth yet another stellar back-rower in the form of Tom Hooper. Like Bell, Hooper has a bright future ahead of him, with the 22-year-old Brumbies forward flexing his relentless work-rate throughout the tournament. Able to play on both sides of the scrum and potentially in the second-row, he is the kind of player the Wallabies can mould their pack around.

😂 Tom Hooper won't be rushing back to the Louvre. #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/AbrwtaS2W9

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) September 29, 2023

Arguably, the Wallabies’ best player at the World Cup was box-office winger Mark Nawaqanitawase, AKA Marky Marky. The 23-year-old has a knack for finding the slightest lapse in defence and exploiting it to devasting effect. He grabbed two tries and an assist in his three games and gained nearly 300 running metres, beating 11 defenders. He, too, has an incredibly bright future.

✈️ Soaring through the air! #RWC2023 #AUSvGEO pic.twitter.com/M95020JZwX

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) September 9, 2023

Statistic leaders

It really was a standout tournament for winger Nawaqanitawase, who scored two tries for the Wallabies, the joint-most, and made more carries (39) than any other Australian backline player. He also made three clean breaks – another joint-high – and gained the most metres (286).

Donaldson shared most of those highs with Nawaqanitawase, matching his clean breaks and tries tally while also being the side’s top points scorer with 45.

Hooper led the way defensively, making 48 tackles, 10 more than the next best from Fraser McReight. Rob Valetini was busy on both sides of the ball, posting the third-best tackle tally with 36 and making the most carries (41).

Success story

Clutching at straws here to find some positives, but in truth, Australia is a far better rugby-playing nation than they displayed at this tournament. Perhaps the best thing about their poor performance and the attention that Jones drew was the fact that people Down Under were talking about rugby union again.

The sport is comfortably behind league, Aussie Rules and cricket in Australia in terms of popularity, and hopefully, the amount of outcry and bollockings the Wallabies got at the tournament will press the bigwigs into making positive and long-lasting changes – the fans deserve it.

Those who really care made their voices heard this World Cup; we can only hope they were heard.

Main regret

There was an air of optimism when Jones took over in January, and while hindsight is 20-20, the main regret must be firing Dave Rennie at the end of 2022.

More specifically for the World Cup, the main regret is that stalwarts of the jersey and those who were performing for the side just 12 months ago were unceremoniously dropped.

Michael Hooper deserved a far better end to his international career than what he was given, while Quade Cooper certainly could have offered more at the tournament, especially when Carter Gordon suffered an injury.

The young squad will have learnt a lot from this tournament but hopefully haven’t been scared too much that it is detrimental for the rest of their careers. There are certainly a few glimmers of hope littered throughout the squad, and getting the right man to replace Jones is crucial.