Alan Jones names the snubbed star the Wallabies must rush into their side as he blasts
Alan Jones has taken another swipe at coach Eddie Jones after Australia’s shock loss to Fiji left their World Cup campaign on life support – with the former Wallabies boss insisting a big name must be brought back into the squad.
The former radio star – who won a Grand Slam with the national side in 1984 by beating England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales – also blasted the current side for using NRL coaches and accused the current coach of using ‘spin’ to cover up the team’s deep-seated problems.
Australia’s loss to Fiji means they have to beat Wales and Portugal to avoid being knocked out of the World Cup in the pool stage for the first time ever – and Jones is adamant bringing Quade Cooper into the side is key to their survival in France.
Former Wallabies fly-half Quade Cooper (pictured with Eddie Jones) was snubbed when Australia’s World Cup side was chosen – and Alan Jones says that mistake needs to be corrected ASAP
Alan Jones accused his namesake (pictured before the World Cup loss to Fiji) of using spin to deflect fans’ attention from the real problems in the team
The fly-half was a controversial omission from the coach’s squad for the tournament and Jones said that needs to be rectified immediately after Carter Gordon’s shocker against the Fijians.
‘If Eddie Jones ignores the opportunity to bring in an experienced No.10, the Wallabies may soon be named “Les Miserables”,’ he wrote for News Corp, explaining that injuries in the squad have given the coach the chance to alter his line-up.
‘I would pick Quade Cooper, a big-game player and a winner.
‘If Quade won’t answer the phone call, you can also look at James O’Connor or Bernard Foley, experienced ball players who ca manage the World Cup Test match on the paddock.’
All of those names are at least 33 years old, flying in the face of Eddie Jones’ commitment to youth at the World Cup – which opened up another avenue of attack for the former 2GB radio star.
Alan Jones’ latest attack follows him slamming the current Wallabies boss for taking the team backwards and creating toxic environments in the teams he’s in charge of
Alan Jones lashed out at the national coach for promising the side would smash South Africa, New Zealand and Argentina in the lead-up to the tournament in France, only to fall to all three opponents in shocking fashion.
‘Interestingly, over the course of the World Cup build-up, the “smash and grab” theme evolved into an “I’m backing the kids” theme.
‘It feels like spin and I am not buying it.
‘I have said before, this is not the youngest side to represent Australia in a major contest. Where ability is present, age does not matter.’
Jones said the Wallabies fell to Fiji because they were dominated in the scrum and maul, with the Aussies’ loose forwards not cutting it against their more committed opponents.
‘I don’t know if all the rugby league coaches in the Wallabies camp understand the breakdown, but somebody must sort this out,’ he wrote.
Eddie Jones – a noted fan of Australia’s top-flight league competition, the NRL – brought in former league stars Jason Ryles and Brad Davis, and also got legendary footy star Andrew Johns to take the team through sessions in the lead-up to the Cup.
It’s far from the first time Alan Jones has slammed his namesake.
Alan Jones also blasted the Wallabies for using rugby league stars like Jason Ryles (pictured with Eddie Jones in France) in their coaching set-up
Earlier this month he accused the Wallabies boss of taking the team backwards and repeatedly creating toxic environments in the teams he runs.
He used Jones’ time at the Queensland Reds as an example.
‘Things became so toxic in the changeroom that the players rebelled; and in the last game of the season, in 2007, Eddie Jones’ Queensland side was annihilated, 92-3 by the Bulls in South Africa,’ he wrote.
Alan Jones also blasted fact Eddie after he ‘churned through 18 coaches and 112 players’ while in charge of England, and accused him of hiring too many assistants in his current stint with the Wallabies, including a ‘learning coach’.
Earlier this year Alan Jones said Eddie ‘clearly displays character traits that psychologists would align with someone living with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD).’
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