Jones to coach Boks at Cup

Jones to coach Boks at Cup

Rupert Guinness
Monday, July 30, 2007

Former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones expects to reach an agreement with the South African Rugby Union today that will see him take up a coaching role with the Springboks for their World Cup campaign in France.

Jones confirmed to the Herald last night that he has been negotiating with the SARU about extending his current one-week consultancy tenure to three months to include the World Cup that starts on September 7.

Jones has already accepted a full-time coaching director's role at English club Saracens for four years, but he said his latest association with the Springboks came with their blessing.

It is expected that Jones will take over as Springboks technical director, replacing Rassie Erasmus, who was appointed coach of the Stormers Super 14 side two weeks ago.

"We have had further discussions. We haven't got everything confirmed yet, but there is a likelihood that I will be doing more with them," Jones said of the Springboks. "I will be there for the start of the World Cup, but not for all of it."

Springboks coach Jake White, a good friend of Jones, told a South African newspaper that he did not want the former Australian coach for the inside information he could provide on the Wallabies.

"Sure, he can give us insight into his observations on any country and player and no one has more intimate knowledge of [George] Gregan and [Stephen] Larkham's technical game than Eddie, but that's not why I want him involved," White said.

"I want Eddie here and in Paris because of the perspective he gives us. This is about what he can do for the Boks and not what he can do in a possible World Cup Test against Australia."

As for Jones, he is unconcerned about the criticism levelled at him by Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O'Neill last week.

"I have basically finished coaching in Australia now. I have moved on. And this will be a coaching experience that will help me to be a better coach at Saracens, which is who I am employed by," Jones said.

As for the World Cup, he believes that the Springboks, Wallabies and All Blacks will all make the World Cup semi-finals. "It will be just a matter of which northern hemisphere side joins them," said Jones, who rates the Springboks highly.

"They are a very good side. They have shown that in the last period of time. When they have put their best teams on the field they have been very good," he said, adding that he has had to come to terms with rugby's prominence in the republic.

"They are really passionate about their rugby. They are committed, as most national sides are. The thing that stands out, and it is the same in New Zealand, is the rugby culture.

"In both New Zealand and South Africa, rugby is the No.1 sport and the focus on the team is clearly more significant than it is in other countries."

And what if Australia meets South Africa in the quarter-finals? "It would be interesting," said Jones, who then laughed at the prospect of daring to look across at the Wallabies coaching box.

"But it is a long time since I have been involved with the Wallabies. People forget that. The last time was 2005. The war settlement is pretty final, mate."

what a DOG!!! how could you do something like that and feel good about yourself? shows how low of a person he has become!

Quote:

Originally Posted by mixmastamark

what a DOG!!! how could you do something like that and feel good about yourself? shows how low of a person he has become!

no worse than the ARU chasing Deans

Touche. Good on him, he's taking the vital role of feeding misinformation to our enemy, the dirty Bokke. Next year Crazy Eddie will be awarded the Order of Australia or some shitzen like that.

HIP HIP HOORAY FOR EDDIE!!!

(but keep this under wraps, don't want the dirty Bokke to find out about our cunning plan. Its a plan so cunning you could brush your teeth with it).

I think Eddy is a great coach and will do wonders for the Boks in the RWC!

Quote:

Originally Posted by brokendown gunfighter

no worse than the ARU chasing Deans

I would say it is from the perspective that he is going in direct competition with the coach he was replaced by and up against the Union he appears to have a grievance with. Just seems an inappropriate move that will be considered by many to be rather unethical.

Good on him, John Mitchell has no doubt had meetings with John Connolly somewhere along the line....

Hehehe, saffas are so cute, in a crazy way!

Jake’s Jones coup
Saturday 28 July 2007

Eddie Jones will be the Boks technical director at the World Cup, writes Keo in the Independent Newspapers.

Springbok coach Jake White has pulled off a potential masterstroke - and put Australian noses out of joint in the build-up to the World Cup.

Former Wallabies coach Jones is set to replace Rassie Erasmus as the Springboks’ Technical Director in Jake White’s most emphatic statement of intent that every avenue will be explored to give South Africa an edge at the World Cup.

SA Rugby Pty Ltd Managing Director Jonathan Stones confirmed to The Independent on Saturday that he had agreed in principle to White’s request to involve Jones on a short-term World Cup contract.

The details of the contract would be discussed on Monday and Stones would explain his decision to the Board.

“In principle I support the coach and think it is a fantastic opportunity. I need to make sure the numbers add up and the next step in the process is to ensure they do and motivate my decision to the board,” said Stones.

The arrangement would see Jones in the next three months alternate between Paris (with the Boks) and London where he is to take up a four-year contract as Saracens Director of Coaching.

Australian CEO John O’Neill earlier in the week attacked Jones’s decision to link up with the Boks on a one-week consultancy.

You don’t need a crystal ball to know what his reaction will be to a three-month involvement.

O’Neill also questioned Jones’s ethics because of his recent involvement with Australian rugby.

Jones responded by calling O’Neill a hypocrite and reminded O’Neill he had left rugby for soccer in the year of the soccer World Cup, vowed never to return to Australian rugby and on the eve of the rugby World Cup had agreed to again head up Australian rugby.

Jones, who coached the Wallabies between 2001 and 2005, said he was a professional coach and rejected accusations he is betraying Australian rugby.

White told The Independent on Saturday he rated Jones as the world rugby’s best technical analyst and he spoke glowingly of Jones’s contribution to the Boks in the last week. He also challenged O’Neill’s comments regarding Jones’s integrity.

“Eddie’s one of the most passionate guys I’ve met when it comes to rugby. He is also one of the most principled.

“Sure he can give us insight into his observations on any country and player and no one has a more intimate knowledge on Gregan and Larkham’s technical game than Eddie, but that’s not why I want him involved.

“I want Eddie here and in Paris because of the perspective he gives us.

“This is about what he can do for the Boks and not what he can do in a possible World Cup Test against Australia,” said White, who was forced to reconsider his options after Erasmus was appointed Stormers coach last week.

“I had to think fast and this opportunity presented itself. Eddie showed an interest to be involved for the World Cup and I share that interest,” said White.

Jones, should there be no unexpected curveball, will become the fifth Australian to work with the Boks in the last five years.

Former Bok coach Harry Viljoen appointed Tim Lane as his backline coach in 2001, while Less Kiss and Frank Ponissi (defensive coaches) and Mike Byrne (kicking and skills coach) also contributed to the Viljoen era. Ponissi and Lane were also a part of Rudolf Straeuli’s management team at some stage between 2002 and 2003.

Byrne has been with the All Blacks for the last four years.

“Having outside influence in our rugby is nothing new,” said White. “It can only be good for our campaign.”

Stones agreed, saying professionalism demanded investing in the best options available.

South Africa’s two premier Super rugby teams, the Bulls and Sharks, both benefited from Australian input this year, with Australian backs coach Todd Louden adding an attacking edge to the Bulls and New Zealander John Plumtree influential in the Sharks resurgence.

White, in encouraging Jones to align himself with the Boks, has shown the kind of innovation usually associated with Australian sports coaches.

If Australian coach John Connolly had lured Nick Mallett, as an example, to consult with the Australians it would have been sold to the media as a stroke of genius. For once Australia is on the receiving end and to add insult to O’Neill it is ‘Sideshow Bob’ who has stolen a yard on the Wallabies.

Jones’s technical knowledge of Australian rugby is unrivalled and he has intimate knowledge of the All Blacks, having plotted their demise at the 2003 World Cup.

Posted by keo

And here are some of the responses from Keo's website. Saffa Gold I say!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crazy saffas

337 Comments »

1.

Can’t wait to see the ozzie reaction to this

Comment by nads : July 28, 2007 @ 2:53 pm
2.

lets hope we see some backline creativity!! alister has been working hard though so hopefully jake will give him the next 3 months off

Comment by keepin_it_real : July 28, 2007 @ 2:53 pm
3.

Brilliant move. Even if its just to infuriate the Aussies.

Comment by BULLET : July 28, 2007 @ 2:57 pm
4.

If I was Jake I’d be sending a box of diapers and a pacifier over to O’Neil. Can u imagine how much Jones’s wife hates us Saffers, having to deal with his nightly tantrums and tiffs lately.

Comment by Johannes Expatinus : July 28, 2007 @ 2:58 pm
5.

#2
You can replace allister allstar with a parrot and the Bok backline will be less predictable.

Comment by Johnny7 : July 28, 2007 @ 3:00 pm
6.

Jakes it seems need all this consulting because his own assistants are inept. If I was Gert, and a Rassie or Eddie gets asked to help, I’d probably get the message, and either shape up or ship out.

Comment by Johannes Expatinus : July 28, 2007 @ 3:03 pm
7.

i dont think that having eddie will necessarily help the boks against the wallabies. aus would probably be more hyped up and motivated and this would probably nullify any bok insider advantage. it would be amusing though to hear jones questioning the legality of the wallabie scrum and hearing him say that after spending time in the cape he isnt sure the wallabie props are good enough to even play for stellenbosch

Comment by keepin_it_real : July 28, 2007 @ 3:05 pm
8.

Yay, now the aussies can do what they do best… WHINE !

Its a professional game, you dont hear us crying about rattlebones or vickerman do you?

Get on with it. Maybe someone should tell them aussies its not always about them, and maybe, just maybe theres a small significant possibility that Jones is here to help the boks prepare, and not teach us the aussie game.

We know exactly how the aussies play anyhow, so what the hells the difference?

Comment by Jake_White : July 28, 2007 @ 3:15 pm
9.

That’s great news, his recent coaching record with the Reds was superb.

Comment by NZINCHINA : July 28, 2007 @ 3:15 pm
10.

So Judas Jones now gets his 30 pieces of silver from the SARU. And this seems to give joy to the muppits of Ig.co.

May the kiss of traitor, give love you so desire.

Comment by cane : July 28, 2007 @ 3:16 pm
11.

With Jones you bound to lose something but since you have nothing to lose you got nothing to lose!

Comment by wallabie. : July 28, 2007 @ 3:18 pm
12.

#6 I would concur with your opinion under general rather than singling out one guy (allister ) like its done in #5. This seems to be saffas pastime hobby at the moment.

Comment by 16 inch black : July 28, 2007 @ 3:18 pm
13.

I dont think anoyone could have saved the reds this season, they were bound for the wooden spoon before the season even started.

The guy still has a great rugby brain me thinks.
And i dont think he’s here to change anything, its more like a something looked wrong in that move, lets tweak something here, tighten a bolt there…

Of coz he will get flak for doing it, say what we want we would give any South African coach serious crap if they had to help the aussies or kiwis ahead of the WC.

Unless it was Streauli or Putt. We give them to Aus for free with pleasure… use their knowledge.

The games professional now, if you are offered a cash for your knowledge to consult somewhere, of course you will take it. And why should jones be loyal to Aus anyhow, they have been giving him crap for a long time now.

Comment by Jake_White : July 28, 2007 @ 3:21 pm
14.

Not a bad idea - I trust this means that JW has finally accepted that the Boks urgently need to improve dramatically on backline attacking strategies - particularly with the aim of achieving backline based penetration of flatline defensive systems!

The Aussies are probably the best exponents of such strategies around - especially since they exploit midfield weaknesses and outside spaces so well.

However their strategy is normally based upon a system of “dummy” runners and switchback passing. I hope that is not too foreign for our midfield capabilities - redoubtable as that may have the potential to be!

I personally believe that it would suit SA’s large and powerful backline runners better to utilise a more straightforward approach of moving the ball rapidly out wide and then changing the angles of attack to cut back to the opposition’s midfield (but studiously avoiding the inside channels close to the forward’s defensive positions).

That would deliver a much more adventurous and yet still safety-first backline initiated offensive strategy and at the same time suit the fast loose forwards of the Boks.

In this way the Boks could run the ball wide and then feed back to the forwards in an unusual position just beyond the oppositions second channel. Thence to recycle and either drive up a for a distance before switching to another outside-in attack OR to go wide again immediately.

A repeat of this outside-in strategy carried over two or three cycles (five to six phases) is bound to pull any oppositions defensive system apart and can be used (as most recently proven by the Aussies) to exploit NZ current midfield inadequacies.

Comment by cyberscamp : July 28, 2007 @ 3:22 pm
15.

Jakey,

The Ozzies will whine yes. But if the boot was on the other foot so would you Saffas.

Comment by cane : July 28, 2007 @ 3:23 pm
16.

#11 lol, I smell sour grapes in the air! I was never a great fan of Eddie but you cannot honestly question the guy’s quality as a coach. Anyways, you are the same guys that got rid of Nucifora. Connoly is not half the coach that Nucifora or Jones is. I guess , you are the only ones that do not see that.

Comment by 16 inch black : July 28, 2007 @ 3:23 pm
17.

cane i would rather kiss this traitor than a kiwi chick,bunch of ugly shazza’s they are.

Comment by Fern : July 28, 2007 @ 3:25 pm
18.

#15 but its not, so whats your point? we therefore cannot argue about what has’nt happened , ca’nt we?

Comment by 16 inch black : July 28, 2007 @ 3:26 pm
19.

If Jake is having to get in outsidee help now it means he has no clue what his tactic is going to be for thye WC.

I am beginning to believe that the reason why Jake left his first team is for 2 reasons..
1 Psychological

2. The WC game plan was played in the home games and the bo0ks failed so he put his 2 nd team in to play the same game plan and see how it faired without doing damage to the firsts.

Problem is he needs help as he has no clue….in steps Jones another one who has no clue.

Comment by wallabie. : July 28, 2007 @ 3:27 pm
20.

16

Eddie is crap…..a whole lot worse than Connolly…conolly has made the wallabies competitive again.

Comment by wallabie. : July 28, 2007 @ 3:29 pm
21.

15. yip. like i said… Anyone who helps anyone else is gonna get flak now…

But, should that stop someone who is offered money for it?

Im sure Jones needs to earn a paycheck still, doubt he has millions in the bank that he lives off.

14. - Agreed, this would play very nicely with having some of the paciest wings around,
I would spend time on Habana though, he needs to learn to sidestep with his leg out wide, he hurt his knee because he tried to sidey with a straight leg…. no knees can handle that at pace.

But ya, when you got someone like habana, your first objective should be to get the ball out wide as quickly as possible.

The aussies are now playing rush defence, if we skip wide really quick (risk of intercept) centres would need to be aware of the move and cover for intercepts, ball goes from 10. skips 12,13 straight to 11. Habana with space will always be danger.

Let that play work once or twice, and the opposition is forced to hang a wing or fullback wide, and then you have opened a space in the middle with a guy like de villiers… you’re winning the mental battle.

Comment by Jake_White : July 28, 2007 @ 3:31 pm
22.

#14 I support the Boks and do not mean to burst your bubble but i think we also need to worry about our pack because they have a tendency of underperfoming against the bigger sides. So , lets not put too much emphasis on backline play because that would all be useless if they do’nt fire at the WC. All that backline work would be in vain.

Why people are less critical of Gert Smal or Balie Swart as forward coaches and specialists is beyond me. No country have more resources that we do at the forward , yet we do not decimate everyone. Strange indeed! Maybe we need consultants from the Pumas to assists in this area. Thats a thought!

Comment by 16 inch black : July 28, 2007 @ 3:32 pm
23.

16 inch,

True……..Your point is difficult to argue with, so……….so I won’t.(well not with you anyway).

Comment by cane : July 28, 2007 @ 3:32 pm
24.

stodders, zulushark, durbstormer, cab, skopskiet, even rugby911, and all the others who have been so vociferous about this unnecessary weakness in the Bok strategy dare all of us now hope that this will finally be addressed and is there enough time and particularly match-time to entrench and embed a bit of variation into the Bok backline?

I certainly hope so and this gives me renewed hope for a truly realistic tilt at that World Cup - not just the fact that Jones is there - but because it seems to indicate that JW has finally caught on to what has been so glaringly evident (hyperbole intended!)

Comment by cyberscamp : July 28, 2007 @ 3:33 pm
25.

Wallabie, you never have anything positive to contribute do you?

DO you cry while you masturbate to waltzing matilda?

Anyhow, Connolly is a good coach, but you should never have dropped jones. It was not his fault that the aussies were losing. remember the injury list?

in steps conolly, gets all his players back and hes the hero?

bah, thats seriously one eyed.

If you really think we have no clue… wait for the WC, I promise we are gonna win it.

Remember this day…

:iconrofl: That is exceptional Chook...expecailly like the comment to Wallabie...."Do you cry when you masturbate to Waltzing Matilda?"...very funny.

"you dont hear us crying about rattlebones or vickerman do you?" You kidding me, they still boo Aussie Clyde!!! Vicks seems to have got away with it but they wanted to lynch Clyde's Grandmother earlier because she wanted to move HOME to Australia...

Comment by Jake_White : July 28, 2007 @ 3:15 pm
9.

That’s great news, his recent coaching record with the Reds was superb.:iconrofl: :iconrofl: :iconrofl:

What a bunch of Pr#cks, they like bagging us, but they gladly except help from an Aussie

They can have him. The Saffas haven't worked out that Eddie can't get a job in Australia because he pisses everyone off. I wonder how long it will take till it turns sour??

*sigh*

Jones and White together... well that'll make for a controversial pair!