Wallabies coach Dave Rennie says there is no chance he and dumped England boss Eddie Jones will work together with Australia for the upcoming Rugby World Cup.
Rugby Australia has spoken to Jones, the former Wallabies coach, about a potential future role in Australian rugby.
While there has been no formal offer by RA, the governing body is waiting to hear back from Jones about his plans following his England exit. Jones has multiple offers from clubs and countries around the world for his services this year and beyond the World Cup, which finishes in October.
Rennie, who is contracted until the end of the year, has survived the axe following a poor Wallabies year which yielded five wins from 14 Tests.
Had the Wallabies not scored a late win against Wales in their final game of the spring tour, it would have been their worst year since 1958.
Speaking from the Gold Coast before a four-day Wallabies camp this week, Rennie was asked about reports that Jones was in RA’s sights.
Wallabies coach Dave Rennie. Credit:Getty Images
“As we know, there is an enormous amount of speculation at this time of year,” Rennie said. “I haven’t spoken to Hamish [McLennan, RA chairman] recently, so I can’t really comment much on it.”
Asked whether he would work alongside Jones this year, if he was brought into the Wallabies set-up, Rennie was emphatic it wouldn’t happen.
“It won’t happen before [the World Cup],” Rennie said. “There’s a fair bit of speculation about a lot of things but my focus is on this group and the World Cup. Anything else happening beyond that will be clarified over the next few months.
“We’ve had no discussions around that. There’s no plan to make alterations to the coaching group at this stage. I haven’t spoken to Hamish and haven’t spoken to Andy [Marinos, RA chief executive] about it. My assumption is we’re going to push on.”
Dave Rennie and Eddie Jones. Credit:Getty
In an extended interview with the Herald last month, Jones said he thought Rennie had done a “really good job under difficult circumstances”.
However, RA is unlikely to renew Rennie’s contract beyond the World Cup. The Kiwi has also been linked with a move to Kobe in Japan but hasn’t informed RA about his plans beyond 2023.
“All I’ll say is I haven’t signed with Kobe,” Rennie said. “My focus is totally here. We’ve spent a big chunk of December when we got back doing reviews and World Cup planning. What happens beyond 2023 will probably be a bit clearer in the next few months.”
Jones taking over the Wallabies in 2024 is still an option and one that would appeal to the 62-year-old given there is a British and Irish Lions series in 2025 and a Rugby World Cup in 2027 to look forward to.
Wallabies coach Dave Rennie and assistant Scott Wisemantel in the Hunter Valley in 2020. Credit:Stuart Walmsley/Rugby Australia
Meanwhile, Rennie said he had someone in mind to take over from Scott Wisemantel after his unexpected resignation as attack coach eight months out from the World Cup.
“It’s a massive disappointment,” Rennie said. “He’s a helluva coach and a great man. We were discussing it in December. In this game, you spend an enormous amount of time away from home. He’s been doing that for a number of campaigns with England at the last World Cup, Japan prior to that, Samoa prior to that and Australia prior to that. It’s hard to replace that sort of experience. We understand he had to make a commitment to his family. It’s the right decision for him.
“We’ll work through that process over the next few weeks.”
RA is considering bringing in an independent selector, something Rennie said he was open to.
“To be a selector, you need to watch a lot of footy,” Rennie said. “We’re not looking for an independent [selector] to come in and change things up and have a massive say on who we’re picking unless they’re in the mixer and they have an understanding of the players coming through.”
Rennie was also quizzed on why James O’Connor and Suliasi Vunivalu had been left out of a 44-man training camp this week.
“I had a good chat to Rabs last week prior to us announcing the team,” Rennie said. “He’s come back from an injury. He’s back training fully now and he’s actually in good nick. He’s running a little bit quicker than we’ve seen over the last couple of years and looks sharper. His focus is playing good Super Rugby and putting a bit of pressure on us to select him for the camp in April.
“Suli has got really clear messages. We need to see him run fast. We need to see a repeat of speed efforts. We know his ability aerially is excellent. He needs to put in good performances at Super level.”
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