The astonishing rise of Eddie Jones is the strongest indication yet that rugby coaches are fast becoming football’s way of how replaceable coaches are, even at the highest levels of the game. Former England coach Jones, who was sacked from his post last month, made a swift return to international coaching on Monday when it was confirmed he would take over the Australian rugby team from Dave Rennie. Also read: Eddie Jones returns as Wallabies coach after Dave Rennie’s surprise sacking
The astonishing rise of Eddie Jones is the strongest indication yet that rugby coaches are fast becoming football’s way of how replaceable coaches can be, even at the highest levels of the game.
Former England coach Jones, who was sacked from his post last month, made a swift return to international coaching on Monday when it was confirmed he would take over the Australian rugby team from Dave Rennie.
READ ALSO: Eddie Jones is back as Wallabies coach after Dave Rennie’s shock sacking
Coaching shake-ups
It is the third major international coaching change in less than two months, with all three coming out less than a year from the 2023 Rugby World Cup, which kicks off in France in September.
Wales were the first to make changes when they sacked Wayne Pivac and replaced him with former coach Warren Gatland, followed by Jones leaving England and Leicester Tigers coach Steve Borthwick appointed in his place.
It then became a major surprise on Monday when it was announced that Rennie had been replaced by Jones, after it appeared that despite a difficult year in 2022, the former could survive the axe.
Rennie has even picked his first Wallabies squad of the year 10 days ago, meaning he is ready for the showpiece event and is under no illusions that he will be coaching the team.
So what happened in the next week and a half since the announcement of the squad may remain a mystery, but there was obviously a big change in the thinking of Rugby Australia’s bosses, who made the drastic decision to change the head coach less than eight months until the event.
Flexible nature
The nature of coaching in football has always been a controversial topic, as many often don’t get the chance to stamp their authority on the team before being released.
Current rugby seems to be heading in that direction as it would normally be unthinkable for a major international team to change their coach less than a year before a World Cup.
But that is no longer small, as proven by Wales, England and Australia, and it will be interesting to see how all three fare in the tournament.
England seems to have made the biggest gamble, replacing the famous international coach very experienced with Borthwick, who has the highest coaching honor as coach of English forwards in Jones from 2015-2020.
Of course Borthwick was appointed after the World Cup and offers the right opportunity to build the team towards the 2027 event, but we will have to see how he copes with the huge pressure of just a few months to prepare the team.
Wales and Australia by contrast have brought in experienced veterans who will be able to run, and will not cause any disruption.
Although Jones’ sudden arrival could have a negative impact on the Wallabies’ setup, especially if they decide to make immediate and drastic changes, starting with the squad Rennie has selected.