Mongrel and menace will be the key components in Eddie Jones’ battle plan as he starts his second stint in charge of the Wallabies in Pretoria next month.
Jones, who perhaps has unfinished business after he was forced out of the England job following his team’s defeat to the Boks last November, will renew his rivalry with Rassie Erasmus and Co in the capital.
Apart from providing him a reliable barometer of where his team is at, Jones, a master agent provocateur, will want to be a thorn in the Boks’ side in the Rugby Championship opener.
The match could serve the dual purpose of providing him a slingshot start, while introducing doubt with the world champions on the cusp of the Rugby World Cup (RWC).
Lack of time
It is his lack of time with the Wallabies that will perhaps necessitate a confrontational, no frills approach at Loftus.
“I don’t know how much they will be able to change for us but I do know that he’ll try to get his team to outmuscle us,” said Erasmus, SA Rugby’s director of rugby.
His lack of time with the Wallabies will perhaps necessitate a confrontational, no frills approach at Loftus
“To be fair, even if he had time to put his stamp on the team before that Test he would want his team to play that way because he knows our mentality,” Erasmus insisted.
Jones was clear when he took the Wallabies job that he wants his forwards to play with greater authority at the RWC in France.
The Loftus Test will provide a first glimpse to what degree the Wallabies have embarked on that path.
Jones though doesn’t have time on his side. “The Brumbies fell out late in Super Rugby Pacific. I think it will take three, four games before you really see his stamp on that team.
“He does however know South Africa, he’s coached the Boks, knows our mentality and coached his last game for England against us. He would have done a lot of analysis on us before that game,” noted Erasmus.
Invited criticism
Will Jones, who invited much criticism, play a percentage game with the Wallabies as he did with England?
Erasmus conceded the Loftus Test is a difficult game to get a read on in the build-up. Jones, he said, now has to deal with a different player profile than he had with England.
“He certainly tried to do different things with England’s players but the Premiership has them playing in a particular style which involves a tactical grind. In Australia they play Super Rugby Pacific where they are more accustomed to playing a quick game.
“Eddie though understands Australians but it is difficult from a South African perspective to try to figure out what he will do. There is no warm-up game in which one can get some insights.”
Erasmus added Jones has the ability to maximise the output of physical forwards, and pointed to what the Aussie did as Jake White’s consultant in the build-up to the Springboks’ victory at the 2007 RWC.
Already Jones is breaking with convention. He had the Wallabies frolicking on Sydney’s Coogee Beach this week as he tried to accustom them to slower, closer combat, and he had rugby league expert Andrew Johns and former RWC winning coach Bob Dwyer cast an eye.
He has recruited English scrum coach Neal Hatley and French maul mentor Pierre Henry Broncan. Hatley too may have unfinished business with the Boks having presided over the England scrum at the 2019 RWC.
Bringing brutes
Perhaps though the embodiment of Jones’ new forward-orientated approach can be seen in the selection of French-based locks Will Skelton and Richie Arnold. Skelton’s 2,07m, 139kg frame brings considerable weight to any forward effort. He certainly threw that around to telling effect in the Champions Cup as Stade Rochelais (La Rochelle) bashed their way to the title.
Jones sees Skelton, who has played just one Test in seven years, as central to his plans.
Doubt however remains over the availability of fellow man mountain Taniela Tupou. The 132kg tighthead prop ruptured his Achilles against Ireland last November and has not played since.
The Boks however are undaunted by all the “big” talk. Erasmus insists team selection will be dictated by their own ambitions.
“Our six/two split (on the bench) is never determined by the opposition. It’s whether we have forwards where if the one replaces the other you lose nothing. The sets of forwards we have here are really close to each other in terms of ability.”
Apart from bringing a harder edge to their forward play the Wallabies will likely bring a more cautious approach when they are in possession. They surprised with their sense of adventure in Japan four years ago but Jones will almost certainly advocate greater use of the boot.
He has highly experienced flyhalves in Bernard Foley and Quade Cooper, while in scrumhalf Nic White he has a player cast in his image who can torment, tease and tantalise.
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