Eddie Jones’ emphasis on nurturing young talent has faced renewed criticism, as former All Blacks and NRL champion Sonny Bill Williams strongly criticised the Wallabies coach following their surprising 22-15 defeat to Fiji in Saint-Etienne.
“My take on this whole ordeal of a game is, I feel for Carter Gordon right now,” Williams said following the game.
:Because he doesn’t have a Quade Cooper or [Bernard] Foley to go back to the hotel and say, “Bro, these things happen but you know you will be better.” It’s really tough seeing him get pulled like that,’ Williams continued.
“And [Samu] Kerevi. But these selections, I’m going to call it how it is – we are in a high-performance arena. And sometimes you live and die by your decisions and Eddie Jones got found out tonight unfortunately.”
Despite being dropped in brutal circumstances, Michael Hooper was diplomatic when speaking about Jones’ controversial calls.
However, the former Wallabies captain did not understand Jones’ second half substitutions.
“I am a huge fan of getting your reserves on,” he said.
“Why would you leave them on the bench until under 10 minutes? Get them out on the field to rip into it.”
Jones, however, doubled down on his selection with a cheeky dig at Hooper and Williams.
“When you are a television commentator, you are always right,” Jones said.
“Maybe I need to become a television commentator then I’ll be right all the time. Look, we’ve gone with a young team, I’ve got no regrets at all. We are building a team for the future and we are going to go through some pain.
“I made the decision to go for a younger team and if that’s the wrong decision then I will be held accountable for that.
“But I think Australian rugby needs to move on to a younger team. I am prepared to go through some pain to leave Australia with a team capable of doing really well in a World Cup.”
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FIVE PLAYERS WHO FLOPPED INTHE WORLD CUP THIS WEEKEND:
We take a look at five players who failed to perform in the second round of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
#1. Dan Lydiate (Wales)
Rugby Pass 5/10: “Largely anonymous. Failed to exert himself on the match in either the tight or loose exchanges. Hooked for Taine Basham on 53 minutes.”
Wales Online 4/10: “Was rather anonymous, only making four tackles and only carrying the ball twice while Wales were turned over at the breakdown far too often during a below par first half. Looked off the pace.”
Planet Rugby 5/10: “Mostly quiet especially compared to his back-row partners as he only managed a handful of carries and six tackles to match. He would have liked to have imposed himself on the game a bit more.”