Queensland centre Josh Flook had no opening line rehearsed ahead of his first meeting with Wallabies coach Eddie Jones but admitted to practising his handshake in a nerve-filled lead-up to the squad’s first camp on the Gold Coast.
Flook and Brumbies halfback Ryan Lonergan were among the new faces that assembled at Sanctuary Cove for a three-day meet and greet sandwiched in between Super Rugby rounds.
Eddie Jones puts players through their paces at his first session as Wallabies coach.Credit: Getty
The first Wallabies camp of a World Cup year is a big event under any circumstances but the first of the new Jones era carried extra excitement.
The wily coach’s reputation as a hard taskmaster preceded him, both Flook and Lonergan admitting to nerves in the lead-up.
“I can honestly say I was a little bit nervous last night and this morning, coming in. [I was] not really sure what to expect, we’re going in blind. Last night on the couch, thinking about it, I definitely had a few nerves,” Flook said.
“I’ll just try and start with a good handshake, I think. Just go off the [cuff]. Hopefully have a little conversation with him, at some point over these next couple of days. But try and start with a good handshake.”
‘You’re coming into this camp with the best in the country, questioning whether you’re supposed to be here.’
Reds centre Josh Flook
Lonergan felt the same, saying it was typical ahead of the first session under a new coach to wonder what to expect.
“So many coaches have different standards around training or off-field stuff, so it’s trying to get a gauge on what’s expected,” he said. “The first training session he’ll use as a first opportunity to show what he expects from us. That’s why I’m so nervous.”
They needn’t have worried. Perhaps it was the kangaroos that hopped across the training field in the warm, late afternoon sun at the Sanctuary Cove Country Club – a stark contrast to the cold and grey of England, where the Australian spent his past seven years – but Jones wore a broad grin for most of his first day with the squad.
He was clearly delighted to see the players up close for the first time. “It’s the first day of school,” he told the Herald in passing.
Jones (far right) with Wallabies leadership group (left to right) Jed Holloway, Michael Hooper, Andrew Kellaway, Allan Alaalatoa, James Slipper and Nic White. Credit: Getty
It wouldn’t have been an Eddie Jones environment without some edge. He brandished a bright orange cattle prod in the first team meeting on Wednesday morning, and asked: “Where’s Suli?”
It was a well-timed icebreaker, players reported, referencing his cheeky response to a journalist questioning his selection in the squad earlier this month of Reds and former Storm winger Suliasi Vunivalu.
“I’ve seen Vunivalu play for Melbourne Storm. I’ve seen him play in NRL. I’ve seen bits and pieces of his play for Australia A, and bits and pieces of what he’s done for Queensland,” Jones said at the time. “There’s a lot of gaps in his game at the moment. But our job as coaches is to help him fill the gaps. So if you’ve got a cattle prod at training get it out, it might help him!”
At this point in his career, it was probably also a wink and a nod to the folkloric tales of mind games and cunning that precedes him. The device lay in the grass behind the goalposts at training, unused as far as the Herald could tell.
One on one: Jones speaks with Waratahs back Max Jorgensen.Credit: Getty
Vunivalu and Jones did speak one-on-one after the first session, as did Jones with Max Jorgensen, Rob Valetini, Nic White and others. At one point he sat on the grass talking with his leadership team of Michael Hooper, James Slipper, Allan Alaalatoa, Nic White, Andrew Kellaway and Jed Holloway.
Jones ran the session himself and heaped praise on the squad during a warm up, opposed session and extras. He was helped by new defence coach Brett Hodgson and skills and kicking coach Berrick Barnes, who played under Jones at the Reds for a short time. Scrum coach Neal Hatley, who does not arrive in Australia until next month, joined the camp via Zoom.
Jones also invited along a group of past Test greats, including George Gregan, Harrison, Chris Latham, Julian Huxley and Morgan Turinui. George Smith and Tim Horan travelled down on Monday evening as part of an informal mentoring arrangement between past and current players.
Flook reported a successful first interaction with his new coach.
“Handshake was good,” he joked.
The tone will undoubtedly harden as Jones whittles down the group ahead of this year’s shortened Rugby Championship, which will serve as a runway to the World Cup in France.
But 11 weeks out from the first Test against the Springboks at Loftus Versfeld, Jones appeared to be working hard to ensure the players’ first taste of “life under Eddie” was a positive one.
“No matter what, I was always going to be nervous,” Flook said earlier in the day. “You’re coming into this camp with the best in the country, questioning whether you’re supposed to be here and you have to try to prove yourself over the next couple of days.”
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