All Blacks v Wallabies Bledisloe Cup: Eddie Jones fires shots ahead of Melbourne clash

Eddie Jones' England knocked out Steve Hansen's All Blacks in 2019. Photo / Getty Images

It’s unclear whether his players can walk the talk but Eddie Jones is one Australian in top form ahead of Saturday’s encounter with the All Blacks.

The Wallabies coach played the part of smiling assassin after naming a surprise side for the Bledisloe Cup test in Melbourne, targeting New Zealand fans, journalists and even the economy.

With the teams at opposite ends of the Rugby Championship standings - Australia beginning with defeats by South Africa and Argentina while the All Blacks swept aside the same opposition - Jones emptied a typically full bag of distraction tricks.

He was fulsome in his praise of the All Blacks, though only once used that moniker before quickly correcting himself. He lauded his opposite Ian Foster for this season overseeing “some of the best rugby we’ve seen”. And, grinning throughout, he insisted his young side were ready to shock the rugby world.

“There’s nothing better than winning against New Zealand because you feel the country sinking,” 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’s going to drop if they lose. And so we can have that effect.

“Maybe put the New Zealand Prime Minister on call that the economy’s going to suffer.”

On current form, Chris Hipkins could be forgiven for holding few concerns. Seventeen years after ending his first stint in charge of the Wallabies, Jones’ second tenure began with a 43-12 thrashing by the Springboks, before the Pumas triumphed through a last-gasp penalty.

But quizzed by a Kiwi journalist, the combative former hooker warned about reading too much into recent results, believing his charges were ready to upset a presumptuous nation.

“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,” Jones said. “But can we put the Kiwis under pressure on Saturday? Yes. And a lot of pressure. And maybe they’re going to get a bit of a surprise.

“I can see the way you’re sitting here, you think, ‘What is this bloke talking about? How can that Australian team take on New Zealand? We’ve been fantastic the first two games’. And you have been, mate - you’ve been really fantastic. So you haven’t changed, you’re still fans with keyboards. Right? So nothing’s changed.”

Jones, conversely, has made seven alterations to the side bitten by the Pumas, handing 22-year-old Carter Gordon a third cap at first five in combination with Tate McDermott at halfback.

“You’ve got to get out of the gates against New Zealand, so we’ve picked a young team,” the coach said. “We want to play at pace. I know New Zealand think they’ve got a mortgage on it but other teams can play at pace, and we feel it’s a good time to play Tate and Carter together.”

The young pair will be sternly tested at the MCG by an experienced All Blacks side who blew away the Pumas and Boks. Jones suggested those performances were owed to the treatment of the outgoing Foster, a “good man” with whom he enjoyed sharing a glass of red.

“I really felt for him,” Jones said of the coaching saga. “You had a board that reacted to media pressure in the appointment of a coaching job. He could go on and produce one of the greatest All Black[s] teams, and then his fate’s already sealed.

“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 this situation, they’ve maybe taken a different approach.

“I’ve never seen a New Zealand team come out in the Rugby Championship ready to go straight away, flying. And we’ve seen that in the first two games - the first two 40 minutes they’ve played have been some of the best rugby we’ve seen for a while.

“Maybe that’s got to do with the coach appointment, because I know the players value [Foster] greatly as a coach, and we all know he’s a good rugby man. They’re playing with a lot of passion, a lot of drive and a lot of direction. And so for us it’s the ultimate test.

“There’s not too many people outside our group that think we can win the game. But there’ll be 85,000 people that might be in for a shock.”