‘You’re still fans with keyboards, right?’ Eddie stirs pot in return to Bledisloe arena

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“There’s nothing better than Australian rugby taking on New Zealand rugby. Because the New Zealanders all think they’re better than us. They always have.”

And we’re away.

The All Blacks delayed their arrival into Melbourne until Thursday night, but the members of the New Zealand press pack who got an earlier flight to throw questions at Eddie Jones weren’t disappointed with their call, as the Wallabies coach indulged in enough Kiwi-baiting to cover most the nightly news back home.

Ahead of his 13th Bledisloe Cup encounter – but first in 18 years – Jones appeared to pick up where he left off, stirring the trans-Tasman pot with enthusiasm. The smirking Wallabies coach took shots at the New Zealand Rugby Union, the Kiwi media and even the country’s obsession with rugby while answering questions about whether the Wallabies could knock over the All Blacks at the MCG on Saturday.

“There’s nothing better than winning against New Zealand because you feel the country sinking, right?” Jones said.

“It’s not just rugby sinks, the country sinks. The whole economy goes down. The Prime Minister is there with his fingers crossed, hoping the All Blacks win, because he knows the economy is going to drop if they lose. So we can have that effect.

Eddie Jones grins at Wallabies training.Credit: Getty

“And at the same time Australian kids will want to play rugby again. Because at the moment too many of them want to play AFL.

“We want kids to play rugby, because it’s the greatest game of all. We have a bit of a job here to do. Maybe put the New Zealand prime minister on call that the economy is going to suffer, and at the same time raise our stakes here.”

Bookies and most rugby pundits see the settled and in-form All Blacks as heavy favourites to beat the winless Australians, who were pushed out to $8 outsiders after Jones named an inexperience run-on team.

It’s all part of the same old script, said Jones, who was the last Wallabies coach to win the Bledisloe Cup in 2001, and retain it in 2002. Coaching for Australia and England, Jones’ record against New Zealand is six wins, one draw and eight losses.

Eddie Jones coached the Wallabies to their last win in New Zealand in 2001.Credit: Dallas Kilponen

When asked by a New Zealand journalist if the Wallabies were the one team in the world who can match the All Blacks with “talent, skill and pace”, he replied: “We never think that.”

“We’re an Australian team, we’re developing as a team. Can we put the Kiwis under pressure on Saturday? Yes,” he continued.

“And I think some people are going to get a surprise. I can see the way you’re sitting here and thinking, ‘What’s this bloke talking about? How can this Australian team do it?’ The All Blacks have been fantastic for the first two games … but you’re still fans with keyboards, right? Nothing’s changed.”

It was all light-hearted and Jones’ front-foot press conference do little – or nothing – as far influencing either set of players goes on Saturday night.

But in comments supporting All Blacks coach Ian Foster, Jones also played some subtle mind games with the New Zealanders’ choice of path towards the Rugby World Cup.

Foster announced earlier this year he would not re-apply for the All Blacks, after the NZR announced it would commence a search for the next All Blacks coach, for after the Rugby World Cup. The unusual move was seen by many as a device to appoint Scott Roberston as the next All Blacks coach, which ultimately unfolded.

Foster argued the whole process was a distraction for the All Blacks, and Jones re-iterated his support for his opposing coach in Melbourne, who he said is “a good man”.

“I really felt for him. He had a board that reacted to media pressure, the appointment of a coaching job,” Jones said.

“He could go on and produce one of the greatest All Black teams, and then his fate’s already sealed. And I think that;s why we’ve seen a different approach from New Zealand this year, normally in a World Cup year they’re very measured in their build-up and they want to peak at the World Cup.

“But I think because of the situation maybe they’ve taken a different approach, and I’ve never seen a New Zealand team come out in a Rugby Championship ready to go straight away, fly in, and we’ve seen that in the first two games.

“That approach can be highly successful and it also has its disadvantages.“

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