Former England coach Eddie Jones and All Blacks coach Ian Foster ahead of the test at Twickenham last year. Photo / Getty
Eddie Jones says the race to become the next All Blacks coach is a “great debate”, but he ultimately doesn’t care as he focuses on his first season back as Wallabies boss.
Along with the busy build-up to a World Cup, New Zealand Rugby has also been hard at work figuring out who it wants to lead the All Blacks beyond this year’s tournament in France, with Ian Foster and Scott Robertson thought to be among the leading candidates for the job.
Speaking to Newstalk ZB’s D’Arcy Waldegrave, Jones praised both Foster and Robertson as coaches, but said he isn’t too bothered about the outcome.
“That’s that great North Island/South Island and you’ve got to keep that going. I reckon that’s a great debate,” Jones said.
“Both of them are good coaches. Scott Robertson has been fantastic in Super Rugby, but as we all know, Super Rugby and test rugby is different. Ian Foster has a fantastic record as the assistant coach of the All Blacks and he’s making that transition to head coach.
“I don’t care who is coaching. You might get Wayne Smith back, who knows.”
Despite the All Blacks’ inconsistent 2022 season — a record that included eight wins, four losses and one draw to Jones’ former side England — Jones said New Zealand have developed well under Foster. There are, however, weaknesses in the team, said Jones.
“There are [weaknesses]. Any team has weaknesses. No team is unbeatable and that’s the great thing about our game. I think what Fozzie did last year was outstanding, how he turned the team around. When they played us at Twickenham, I thought their first 20 to 30 minutes was absolutely brilliant. It was that old-style counter-punching, score quickly, shift the ball quickly to the extremities of the field and then play from there, which they did through attacking kicks against us.
“I think the team developed nicely under Ian and I’m sure that with another Super Rugby season, another Rugby Championship under their belt, they’re going to be tough to beat.”
For now though, Jones says all he’s thinking about in his second stint as Wallabies coach is preparing his side for a busy season, culminating in the World Cup in September.
“The only thing I’m thinking about is the next nine and a half months, because in reality what I can control is to get the team ready firstly for the Rugby Championship and the Bledisloe Cup and then to the World Cup.
“If you look at the history of the World Cup, I think one of the interesting things is what South Africa did last in the last World Cup. In 2018, they were a bit of a mess, winning it under 40 per cent. There was great disgruntlement with the way they were playing and Rassie Erasmus comes in and basically goes back to traditional Springboks rugby and they win the World Cup.
“So there’s no reason why we can’t do that.”
Jones, who coached Australia to the 2003 World Cup final before being sacked in 2005, admits challenges remain for Rugby Australia and the Wallabies, but he is certain Australia are good enough to win the World Cup this year.
“No doubt about it mate. There’s enough talented players here. Like any country we might be skinny in one or two positions. You look at Ireland, the best team in the world at the moment, but they lose Johnny Sexton and are they the best team in the world? And that’s a completely centrally contracted country.
“We’ve got some depth problems, there’s no doubt about it, but I think we’ve got enough talented players and I think under Dave [Rennie] the team has shown that they can compete with anyone in the world — take an Ireland to three points, France to three points, drawn with New Zealand, beaten South Africa. So the track record is there. What the teams are unable to do is to do that with any of the consistency and to win a World Cup, you got to win seven in a row.”
While the drama around the All Blacks coaching job may not be of interest to Jones, he admitted New Zealand are very much top of mind.
“Beat New Zealand, mate. That’s the only thing,” Jones said when asked about the first thing he wanted to tick off in his new job.
“It’s been 22 years since we won the Bledisloe Cup. For a two-team competition the law of averages isn’t right.
“We play New Zealand at Melbourne cricket ground. It’s the only ground in the world where Australia has a positive advantage in terms of wins and losses over New Zealand. So it’s a great way to kick off. So that’s all we’re thinking about at the moment.”