Two years after Eddie Jones walked out on Australian rugby leaving broken dreams and shattered reputations in his wake, the Wallabies face the man who led them to World Cup ignominy in an emotion-charged game against Japan on Saturday.
An away test against the Brave Blossoms is usually a welcome stop for Australian teams; a chance to loosen up against an emerging rugby nation and build confidence before meeting the big dogs in Europe.
But with Jones plotting in the opposing coaches’ box, the tour opener has a sharper edge for the Wallabies who left France shellshocked after the 2023 World Cup, and for those left out of Jones’ squad entirely.
It will be the first time they face Jones since he walked away nine months into a five-year deal that had been hailed by Australia’s former rugby leadership as the catalyst for a Wallabies renaissance following years of stagnation.
Never mind that prior to signing, Jones had been sacked by England after a run of poor results.
But in an era of Trumpian disruption, Jones’s own MAGA (“Make Australia Great Again”) project had great appeal for success-starved fans pining for the golden days.
A canny media operator, Jones’ optimism and hyperbole proved infectious for a while, generating the biggest buzz around the Wallabies since Michael Cheika took them to the 2015 World Cup final.
The hype crashed head-first into reality, though, when Australia were embarrassed by their Southern Hemisphere rivals in Jones’s first matches in charge.
The plummet continued after he axed long-standing captain Michael Hooper and named a World Cup squad featuring 16 players with less than 10 caps.
Leaving for France, he testily told home media to give themselves “uppercuts” for being “bloody negative” about the team.
Soon there were declarations of fake news at the World Cup as Jones denied reports he had interviewed for the Japan job.
It was a distraction that dogged the squad throughout a woeful campaign that ended with a first-ever pool phase exit.
Jones resigned with a record of two wins from nine tests in his second stint in charge of Australia. Weeks later, he was named Japan’s head coach.
DARKEST CHAPTERS
The Wallabies have moved on under Jones’s successor Joe Schmidt, who has promised fans nothing but effort and gradual improvement.
Fans will want nothing less than a thumping win over Jones and Japan, however, if only to turn the page on one of the darkest chapters in Wallabies history.
With 13 changes to the starting 15 who lost to New Zealand in Perth three weeks ago, most of Australia’s match-day squad on Saturday never played under Jones.
But four of the starters – fullback Andrew Kellaway, loose forward Rob Valetini and props Zane Nonggorr and Angus Bell – were part of his World Cup squad.
Others, like centre Hunter Paisami, scrumhalf Jake Gordon and captain Harry Wilson, named on the bench, may remember being shunned by Jones.
Japan have failed to beat Australia in six previous attempts but Jones has a formidable record coaching against his home nation.
“I enjoy beating Australia — I coached against them 10 times for England and beat them nine times,” the 65-year-old said on Thursday.
“Playing against your own country, there’s always a certain amount of different feeling involved in it, but it just brings out the extreme competitive spirit within yourself.”
After a rough start under Jones, Japan have turned a corner this year and pushed Fiji in a 33-27 loss for the Pacific Nations Cup title last month.
Australia, meanwhile, have lost their last three tests and will be captained by two-cap loose forward Nick Champion de Crespigny.
New Zealander Schmidt conceded it was a gamble to rest so many of his core players but one worth taking before matches against England, Italy, Ireland and France.
Never one to shy away from playing the pantomime villain, Jones likes his odds.
“Given the team they’ve picked it looks like there’ll be opportunities for us,” he said.
