EXCLUSIVE: Rugby Australia line up a sensational swoop for Eddie Jones

EXCLUSIVE: Rugby Australia line up a sensational swoop for Eddie Jones with Wallabies looking to ‘weaponise’ disgruntled former England boss ahead of next year’s World Cup

• Rugby Australia chair Hamish McClennan has incredible plans to hire Jones
• Eddie Jones is free to join another team due to not having a non-compete clause
• Jones could now come back to haunt the RFU after they sacked him on Tuesday
• Earlier this week, the former Australia coach said that he is ‘looking for a job’

Australia are considering a sensational move to sign Eddie Jones and ‘weaponise’ the sacked England coach for next year’s World Cup.

Having failed to put a non-compete clause in Jones’s severance deal when his contract was terminated on Tuesday, the Australian is free to join another team and could come back to haunt the RFU.

He revealed he is ‘up for a scrap’ and ready for an immediate return – with a return home to Sydney having the potential to send fear down the corridors of power at Twickenham.

Australia are considering a sensational move to sign Eddie Jones who was sacked by England on Tuesday

Rugby Australia chief Hamish McLennan said it would be the return of the ‘prodigal son’. Pictured: Jones coaching the Wallabies in 2004

Rugby Australia Chairman Hamish McLennan revealed to the Mail on Sunday that the Wallabies are looking at how they could parachute Jones into their plans for France 2023.

McLennan would not be drawn on the specifics of a role but Jones’s experience could set him up to work as a director of rugby alongside head coach Dave Rennie.

‘Eddie is clearly a massive talent and campaigner in World Cups,’ said McLennan. ‘We’ve got Dave Rennie in place but we need to think how we can weaponise these recent events for Australia if Eddie wants to come home.’

Jones has reached three World Cup finals in four attempts, winning one, and is desperate to end his career with another title.

The 62-year-old was a divisive figure in English rugby and the RFU made a snap decision to sack him after the disastrous autumn campaign.

Australia host British & Irish Lions in 2025, before staging the World Cup in 2027 and Jones, who last coached the Wallabies in 2005, would surely relish the challenge of a homecoming.

‘I’m surprised this has happened,’ admitted McLennan. ‘Is Australia ready for Eddie? He is the prodigal coaching son. For the most part, people love him.’

Hamish McLennan would not be drawn on the specifics of a role but Jones’s experience could set him up to work as a director of rugby alongside head coach Dave Rennie

Steve Borthwick was a coach under Jones before leaving for Leicester but the RFU  are keen for him to be the man to lead England at the Six Nations

Jones’s tactical nous has been widely praised but he was accused of running a ‘culture of fear’ before his seven years with England came to a sudden end this week.

He told the Sydney Morning Herald: ‘In this job I’ve learnt it’s impossible to avoid being moved on. It comes with the gig. But I’m proud of what we accomplished in my time here [with England] and I wish I had the opportunity to finish what I started.

‘All the critics are having their say. My only response is that I have coached a certain way my whole career and I’m happy with that, and I’m not about to change anything when it comes to my dedication, expectations and determination to get things done. I’m not going to get into anything more than that.

‘As for my next step, well I think everyone knows I love a scrap and I’m up for whatever challenge is next. I’m open to looking at everything in rugby and I’ve made no secret of my wish to give the NRL a go, too. Nothing is off the table. Nothing. It’s all about the right job at the right time and I’ll look at it all.’

Jones left Twickenham on Tuesday morning in a black Mercedes.

There were a series of meetings on Monday afternoon, with the RFU forming a panel including CEO Bill Sweeney, Performance Director Conor O’Shea, Sir Ian McGeechan and board members Genevieve Shore and Phil de Glanville.

Jones was the Wallabies coach between 2001 and 2005 and led them at the 2003 Ruby World Cup where his side lost to England thanks to Jonny Wilkinson’s famous drop goal

Jones was first to be called in and was given around an hour to save his job.

His ‘leadership staff’, including consultant Neil Craig, former England captain Will Carling, and psychologists Andrea Furst and Corinne Reid were second. And the assistant coaches took their seats separately for the final meeting.

Richard Cockerill was made interim coach on Tuesday morning and given a mandate to prepare the team for the Six Nations. He was at the Gtech Community Staium on Friday night to watch London Irish’s defeat by Montpellier but his future is still shrouded in uncertainty.

While Jones has gone, the RFU are yet to issue any assurances about the role of his assistants as the negotiate Steve Borthwick’s release from Leicester.

Borthwick is likely to want to bring in some of his own staff but the RFU are yet to agree a compensation package with the Tigers, who have found themselves in a powerful bargaining position.

At a delayed press conference on Friday afternoon, Borthwick refused to engage on discussions about England but revealed he had addressed the speculation with his squad ahead of today’s game against Leicester.

Leicester and England scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet, who sent Jones a message after he was sacked, said: ‘Steve addressed the squad about the rumour earlier in the week. We had that chat and then that was it for us, we focussed straightaway on that challenge against Ospreys.’

Borthwick insisted that he will still be in charge of Leicester for next week’s game against Clermont, but the RFU will be keen to put him in place by January to begin preparations for the Six Nations.

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