‘What the actual f**k’ – Eddie Jones’ World Cup squad polarises the public

Eddie Jones has caused a stir Down Under after naming his 33-man Wallabies squad for the Rugby World Cup in France.

Veterans Quade Cooper and Michael Hooper did not make the final cut, while Will Skelton will captain the side with Tate McDermott his deputy.

Besides the omissions, Jones has also selected three uncapped players in prop Blake Schoupp, scrum-half Issak Fines-Leleiwasa and winger Max Jorgensen.

The selections are certainly bold and have polarised fans and pundits.

Reaction to the Wallabies Rugby World Cup squad

Former England fly-half and Eddie Jones critic Andy Goode slammed the decision to not select fly-half Cooper.

“No Quade Cooper in the @wallabies squad for the @rugbyworldcup?! What the actual f**k Eddie?!” Goode posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Meanwhile, Graham Love poked fun at the Springboks, who only named one fly-half in their squad for the World Cup.

“Springboks fans: noooo we couldn’t select our most experienced 10/ Eddie Jones: Quade Cooper goes bye byeee,” Love posted on X.

“Madness or genius?” another fan queried.

“No Quade Cooper. No Michael Hooper. No Len Ikitau. Max Jorgensen BOLTER. And Wallabies captain Will Skelton. Wild stuff,” Tom Decent added.

Several fans felt that the squad was a joke.

“The Vunivalu selection must be a send-up! There would be 500 more deserving Australian wingers on form. Is Eddie serious? The ex-NRL free pass has never gone so far,” one fan wrote.

Another quipped: “April 1 was months ago”

One reply read: “Will Skelton, Is Eddie playing mind games with us too?”

Eddie is the biggest troll of all. Lol.

— Trapper64 (@Trapper641) August 10, 2023

Michael Hooper

Hooper’s omission was the one that hit hardest for some. The 125-Test cap flanker was named as the co-captain for the side at the start of the Rugby Championship but has been battling with injuries.

A comment on the Wallabies’ post revealing the team read: “Some Interesting selections there! I feel bad for both Michael Hooper and Quade. I also thought they said Hooper would be fit for the first game? History shows experience wins world cups!”

Rugby Analyst Sam Larner added: “I’m broadly fine with this squad. Plenty of talent across it. Leaving out Michael Hooper is the big one for me. Quade Cooper I’m less concerned by as Carter Gordon looks more than good enough. With small squads I don’t think you can afford to take people you don’t want to use.”

It is believed that Hooper would have retired after the Rugby World Cup, and one fan added that this was a crazy way for him to bring his international career to an end.

“Hooper must be heartbroken, been a stalwart of an Aussie side, through various regimes, through the ups and the downs, and for large spots came out defending is fellow team-mates and coaches. For a Wallaby legend, crazy that’s ended so unceremoniously,” wrote @sentlexlehoko on X.

South African journalist Craig Ray added: “Not close enough to Aus #Rugby to know the ins & outs, but from afar, axing Michael Hooper, the only Wallaby consistently world class, is weird to me. Besides experience, leadership and stature, he has been very good between WC’s in a lean time. Mallet/Teichmann comes to mind.”

A punt on red or black

While there were a plethora of negative reviews of the team, not everyone saw it as a bad squad.

Renowned Australian Rugby journalist Christy Doran praised Jones for his bravery in naming such a youthful side. The squad features an average age of 26 and an average cap tally of 20, the lowest of an Australian Rugby World Cup squad since the 1991 edition of the tournament.

“Eddie Jones has done what needed to be done almost four years ago. He has ushered through the next wave of Wallabies,” Doran wrote in his column for The Roar.

“Not in drips and drabs, but at once. He has followed the lead of Fabien Galthie, who together with Jaques Brunel dropped their own bombshell ahead of the Japan tournament after taking over France on the eve of the World Cup in Japan, by backing those he thought would benefit ahead of the 2023 tournament.”

Meanwhile, Iain Payten questioned whether Jones was crazy or courageous of if the Wallabies simply needed change.

“There’s rolling the dice as a coach. And then there’s re-mortgaging your house, selling everything in the shed and taking all your cash to the casino for a one-off punt on red or black. See Eddie Jones’ squad for the Rugby World Cup,” Payten wrote for the Sydney Morning Herald.

Payten added: “Those who know Jones say his scorched-earth squad is a calculated gamble. Jones has not hidden his disquiet at Australian rugby having become a place where teams and players have been infected with chronic losing.”

READ MORE:  All the 2023 Rugby World Cup squads and team updates