The Eddie Jones effect is filtering down to Super Rugby franchises, with the Waratahs declaring that a “clean slate” across the country has energised players hoping to push for Wallabies honours.
Australia’s top players had a reasonable gauge of where they stood with Dave Rennie after the announcement of a 44-man Wallabies squad for a camp last month.
However, the sudden appointment of Jones as Rennie’s replacement has changed all that ahead of the World Cup in France later this year.
Rennie’s favourites now don’t know where they stand with Jones, while players with zero to minimal Wallabies experience believe they have as good a chance as anyone to break into the national setup.
“A fair few people have said … it gives a fair few people an even playing ground,” Waratahs back Dylan Pietsch said on Thursday. “People who thought they weren’t in the mix at the start, it gives them a second wind.
“It would be exciting because coaches do have their own ideas of who they want to pick. Dave Rennie was there for a while, so you could get a gist of who he wanted to pick. For the boys that aren’t in there, it’s good for them to have a little second wind. If they play well, they’ll be selected.”
Eddie Jones will be keeping a close eye on Waratahs players. Credit:Getty/Edwina Pickles
Earlier this week, Jones name-dropped former NRL flyer Suliasi Vunivalu as a potential option in his Australian backline after the Reds winger couldn’t convince Rennie of his worth at Test level.
Jones’ first Wallabies squad will be fascinating and there will be even greater interest in his maiden starting XV for Australia’s Test against South Africa on July 8.
Waratahs assistant Jason Gilmore said head coach Darren Coleman has told players it’s their chance to shine under a new Wallabies regime.
“It’s a clean slate,” Gilmore said. “We’d like to think the boys have to push hard through Super Rugby to show form and show what they can do. I definitely think all clubs would be looking at it thinking that their boys are going to have to play out of their skin to put their hand up for Eddie. Hopefully, that benefits us.
“We haven’t heard anything about visits yet [to the Waratahs] but I think he’s going to our trial this weekend [against the Brumbies in Griffith on Saturday]. Hopefully, we can catch up with him in the next couple of weeks.”
The Waratahs begin their season with a clash against the Brumbies on February 24 at Allianz Stadium and don’t face a Kiwi opponent until round four when they tackle the Hurricanes.
Gilmore believes Kiwi sides won’t underestimate the Waratahs as much as last year when they were coming off a winless 2021.
“I think last year no one rated us, so we got through it, whereas this year we’ve got a bit more expectation,” Gilmore said.
“The Kiwis aren’t going to take us as lightly as last year. Expectation is going to be a lot higher in the new [training] facility and our new [stadium]. Performing under pressure is our real big thing we’ve worked on over the pre-season. If you don’t have expectation, no one rates you.
Dylan Pietsch makes a break for the Tahs. Credit:Getty
“Hopefully, that’s a good thing that people are starting to look up at us and see us as a bit of a threat this year. We’ve got to deliver on that too.”
Gilmore, who coached NSW playmakers Ben Donaldson and Tane Edmed on Australia A tours last year, said he agreed with Coleman that it was an even race for the Waratahs No.10 jersey.
“Benny is that free-flowing natural style of footballer,” Gilmore said. “Tane is that real general that can drive you around a field. Willy Harrison is probably in between both of those and he has a left-foot kick. After Australia A, Donno got the spot on the [Wallabies] end-of-season tour but Tane won the series for us in the second game [of the Japan tour with Australia A] when he iced the conversion after full-time.
“I actually don’t think Tane wasn’t too far behind Donno in how he played in Japan and Fiji. That was just what Rennie wanted. Tane could have been on that [spring tour] trip. For us, it’s definitely 50-50.”
Watch all the action from the Six Nations with every match streaming ad-free, live and exclusive on Stan Sport. Round 1 kicks off this Sunday 5 February, with Wales v Ireland (1:05am AEDT), England v Scotland (3:35am AEDT) and Italy v France (1:50am AEDT).
