Eddie Jones has made a sensational return to rugby as head coach of Australia after Dave Rennie was sacked.
Dismissed as England boss in December, with Steve Borthwick brought in as his replacement ahead of the Rugby World Cup this year, Jones has taken the Wallabies job for a second time.
Australia ditched Dave Rennie to create the vacancy, with Jones describing his return to the job he previously held from 2001 to 2005 as "a wonderful opportunity".
Rugby Australia said Jones has committed until 2027, meaning his contract covers two World Cups and the 2025 British and Irish Lions tour.
The 62-year-old, who was in charge of the Australia side that lost to England in the 2003 World Cup final, will formally start his second tenure on January 29.
Jones said: "It is a wonderful opportunity for me to be able to come home to Australia and lead my nation to a Rugby World Cup.
"It is going to be an immense period for Australian Rugby – as a proud Australian, it is a great honour to be able to come home and lead the national team during these years.
"The Wallabies squad is a really talented group of players with good depth – if we can have everyone fit and healthy going into the World Cup this year, I am confident that we can go to France and break the 24-year drought of winning the Rugby World Cup.
"I am really looking forward to getting back home and getting stuck in."
Defeats in November to France, Ireland and particularly Italy sealed Rennie's fate. His team also beat Wales and Scotland on their Northern Hemisphere tour, but those victories were not enough to save his job.
New Zealander Rennie had three years as head coach, and Rugby Australia said there had been "positive steps" taken under his leadership.
It was decided, however, that with Jones available for hire, Australia could not afford to stand by and see someone else move for him.
Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan described the appointment as "a major coup", labelling Jones, who has also coached Japan, as "the best coach in the world".
"Eddie's deep understanding of our rugby system and knowledge of our player group and pathways will lift the team to the next level," McLennan said.
"Eddie instinctively understands the Australian way of playing rugby – this represents an opportunity to secure a coach of immense expertise and experience at the biggest competitions, and we did not want to miss it."
Jones will also oversee the development of Australia's women's programme, with the Wallaroos looking to build on a quarter-final appearance at last year's World Cup.
Robbie Henshaw waiting for chance due to form of Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose
Ireland centre Robbie Henshaw accepts he may have to remain patient for opportunities at his third Rugby World Cup due to the “flying” form of positional rivals Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose.
The experienced 30-year-old has been a Test regular for a decade but his game time in France has so far been restricted to two cameos.
Leinster player Henshaw, who has 67 international caps, admits the peripheral role feels unfamiliar and is fighting to regain a starting spot.
He believes strength in depth is vital to his country’s aspirations in the tournament and praised the “outstanding” displays of Aki, who has already registered four tries, and Ringrose.
“He’s been brilliant, his body’s in great shape,” Henshaw said of the in-form Aki.
“He’s flying fit and he’s had a great pre-season, as has Garry. The lads are flying it, their performances have been consistent and rock solid and Bundee’s been flying in terms of getting tries on the board.
“He’s been letting us know that he’s near the top of the try scorers list, which we’ve been having a laugh about.
“They’ve been outstanding and for me it’s just whenever I get a chance to come in to make sure I put my best foot forward.”
View this post on InstagramHenshaw was a late withdrawal from Ireland’s bench for the opening win against Romania as a precaution.
He then bolstered his side as a replacement in the subsequent success over Tonga before twice coming on against South Africa, initially in the first half while Ringrose underwent a head injury assessment.
“You start the week with the mindset of being as competitive as you can and making sure when we know the team that they’re prepared the best they can be,” Henshaw said of team selection.
“That’s definitely a role of the guys who are not in that starting 15, making sure we prepare the lads.
“But then on the flip side, whenever you get your chance, it’s being ready.
“Coming off the bench definitely isn’t something I’ve been used to for a while but it’s about making sure you give it your all when you get on and you positively impact the game.”
Ireland have been relatively injury free during the current campaign.
Head coach Andy Farrell is in the unusual position of having his three leading midfield options available, in addition to Stuart McCloskey and versatile backs Keith Earls and Jimmy O’Brien.
Two-time British and Irish Lion Henshaw acknowledges that has not often been the case in recent times.
“It’s a good point, there’s always in the past – Six Nations, Novembers – been one of us in or out due to injury or whatever,” he said.
View this post on Instagram“Hopefully we can keep us all fit.
“But the quality we have, we’ve great strength in depth in those positions, even the likes of Earlsy being able to come in at 13 and Jimmy.
“The depth we have here is key for playing in a World Cup because anything can happen.”
Ireland lead Pool B thanks to their 100 per cent record but are still sweating on a quarter-final place ahead of next weekend’s crunch Paris showdown with rivals Scotland.
“Every time we play Scotland we know they’re going to come for us,” said Henshaw.
“Now we can see what it means to them and what they want to chase and what we want to chase in terms of getting those four wins.
“They’re going to come and have a go like they always do through (fly-half) Finn Russell and getting the ball to the width.
“They’ll have a plan and we’ll need to make sure we’re rock solid and we attack it.”
Javan Sebastian: Spell in the ‘normal’ world gave me impetus to succeed in rugby
Javan Sebastian admitted to being “a bit overwhelmed” about the prospect of making his first start for Scotland at a World Cup after bouncing back from a “dark” spell working as a butcher when he feared his professional rugby career was over.
After failing to earn a contract in 2016, the Wales-born prop had to drop into the semi-pro ranks and got a job as a butcher in Carmarthen to make ends meet.
At that point, resigned to the likelihood that it was not to be for him at the top end of the game, Sebastian could never have envisaged he go on to represent Scotland – the nation of his father’s birth – at a World Cup in France.
“I was a bit overwhelmed when Gregor told me I was going to be starting tight-head,” said Sebastian, reflecting on the fact that – after six appearances for Scotland as a substitute – he will make his first start in Saturday’s World Cup Pool B match against Romania in Lille.
“I was quite surprised to even be selected in the World Cup squad. It’s a massive achievement to be selected in any squad, so to get a starting place is pretty surreal.”
After struggling to break through at Scarlets and then having an unfulfilling loan stint at Glasgow, Sebastian dropped out of the professional game aged 22 to become a butcher while playing part-time for Carmarthen Quins.
“That was a dark time,” he recalled, speaking from the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille on the eve of his World Cup bow. “It was after I left Glasgow, having been there for a year. I went back home (to Wales) to have my first-born.
“I took a year out of rugby and didn’t really end up having a job so I applied to be a butcher and play semi-pro.
“I worked in the butcher’s for about two months. I couldn’t hack it any longer than that. It was dark, not a nice place.
“I thought my professional rugby career was pretty much over, so I took a year out to reflect and get back to normal life.
“It made me open my eyes to what I could potentially do. Being a butcher or any other normal job is quite tough. I’m not saying that being a rugby player isn’t tough, but the real world is scary.
“I discovered normal life wasn’t for me, so I thought I would try to play rugby again.”
Sebastian was cajoled in that regard by his coaches at Carmarthen who felt he was too good to be playing at such a lowly level and helped him earn a second chance with Scarlets in 2017. He became a prominent figure at the Parc y Scarlets until joining Edinburgh this summer on a two-year deal.
“Playing semi-pro in Wales was pretty dark,” he said. “You go to places like Neath, Cross Keys away, when it’s raining and it’s seven o’clock at night and the pitches are deep in mud. It’s not a nice place to play.
“The coaches at the time were Craig Evans and Richard Kelly. They really pushed me on to try and go for more than what I was doing at that time. Richard was also a coach at Scarlets, so he really pushed me to get back in.”
Sebastian – effectively Scotland’s third-choice tighthead – feels his move to Edinburgh can help him progress further.
“It’s just another step on the journey where I want to project on to the next level,” he said.
“Edinburgh have a strong pack, so trying to play some expansive rugby within that pack will benefit me.”
Scotland srum coach Pieter de Villiers was full of praise for the way Sebastian has forced his way into contention for his first international start in a match Scotland must win with a bonus point to keep alive their hopes of reaching the quarter-final.
“It is a well-deserved start,” he said. “He’s had a great preparation period and is very well respected within the group.
“In terms of the set-piece, I think he’s one of the best scrummaging tightheads out there. You can ask any front-row player, they’ll always back Javan to pack down in a scrum.
“Playing at Edinburgh next season, it’ll be good for him to develop alongside his international team-mates. It’ll be good to have him closer to home and to see him grow.”
The talking points ahead of Scotland’s must-win World Cup clash with Romania
Scotland play their third match of the World Cup against Pool B minnows Romania in Lille on Saturday night.
Here, the PA news agency assesses some of the key talking points ahead of a must-win fixture for Gregor Townsend’s side.
Scots need big win ahead of Ireland
Nothing less than a comprehensive victory will do for Scotland as they bid to stay on course for qualification for the quarter-finals ahead of what is shaping up to be a critical showdown with Ireland in Paris next Saturday. The Scots need to win with four tries this weekend to get the bonus point they require, which is something they should do with little trouble given that they touched down seven times against Tonga last weekend, while Ireland and South Africa put 82 and 76 points respectively on the Romanians. In addition to getting the bonus point, a swashbuckling attacking performance and a heavy scoreline would be desirable to ensure a degree of buoyancy is maintained ahead of the Ireland match.
Big guns preserved
Head coach Gregor Townsend clearly has a big eye on next weekend given his team selection, with 13 changes to the XV that started last Sunday’s win over Tonga. Darcy Graham and Grant Gilchrist – who captains the side in the absence of the injured Jamie Ritchie – are the only two players in the line-up who started the opening game against South Africa, when arguably the first-choice XV was sent out. Big-hitters like Finn Russell, Duhan van der Merwe, Sione Tuipulotu, Zander Fagerson and Jack Dempsey have been left out of the 23, while regular starters Blair Kinghorn, Huw Jones and Rory Darge will provide a reassuring presence on the bench.
Opportunities for fringe men
The starting quartet of Hamish Watson, Luke Crosbie, Javan Sebastian and Ben Healy are getting their first action of this World Cup after being idle for the first two games, while six others – Ali Price, Cam Redpath, Ollie Smith, Jamie Bhatti, Ewan Ashman and Sam Skinner – have been handed their first start of the tournament. With Scotland boasting a relatively established starting XV these days, this is an opportunity for several players on the periphery of the squad to showcase their abilities and try to push themselves further up the pecking order, possibly even playing their way into contention for the Ireland game.
The Vern Cotter factor
A familiar face will be attempting to put a spanner in the works for Scotland this weekend. Vern Cotter, the head coach who led the Scots to within a whisker of the World Cup semi-finals in 2015, is working as a consultant for the Romanian team at the current tournament. The 61-year-old New Zealander is sure to have plenty of insight on the Scots, having had three years in charge before being succeeded by Townsend in 2017. “I have been overseeing their preparation since this year’s Rugby Europe Championship and I will be involved as an advisor for the RWC, hoping the Oaks will evolve, play some good games and exceed everyone’s expectations,” said Cotter last month.
Scotland get first taste of northern France
After spending the past month sizzling in the heat of the south of France at their base in Nice and in Marseille – where they played their opener against South Africa – the Scots have encountered grey skies and a much cooler temperature since flying to the other end of France for this weekend’s match in Lille. The players have relished the change of scenery and a reprieve from the heat that ensures they will kick off on Saturday night in conditions far more like what they are accustomed to at home in Scotland.
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