La Rochelle’s second-row Will Skelton believes Eddie Jones has “brought some life back” to Australian rugby since rejoining the Wallabies in January as head coach.
Skelton’s most urgent appointment on a rugby field is against Exeter on Sunday, but the 30-year-old also hopes to feature in Australia’s World Cup plans this autumn.
Jones was dismissed as England head coach last December but, with nothing in his Rugby Football Union contract blocking him from working for a rival nation at the World Cup, he was swiftly hired by Rugby Australia as Dave Rennie was let go. Jones last held the post in 2005, having led his country to the 2003 World Cup final on home soil when they were defeated by England in extra time.
“When you look at the media, he’s definitely brought some life back into Aussie rugby,” Skelton said of Jones’s impact. “As a player it’s refreshing to have a new coach come in and bring in his style, his way of playing, which the boys have to buy into.”
Jones’s successful efforts to lure the 19-year-old Sydney Roosters back Joseph Suaalii into a code switch have also generated headlines in Australia. “The Suaalii signing is massive for the game,” Skelton said. “It’s putting rugby back in the papers back home.”
Skelton revealed he has recently lost sleep in order to attend Wallabies team activities online. “[We had] a few Zoom calls last week for the foreign players,” he said. “We had to tune in in the middle of the night and did a few meetings with the team ... it was good to be a part of.”
Skelton has played in three of the past four Champions Cup finals, and is one of only six players to win the tournament with two different clubs. He won it with Saracens in 2019, lost the final with La Rochelle against Toulouse in 2021, and played a key role in their triumph against Leinster last May.
With an exodus of Exeter players looming, the New Zealand-born lock believes Rob Baxter’s men will be all the more motivated on Sunday. “The core of their group has been together a long time, they have won trophies together, it is quite a tight-knit group,” Skelton said. “If any team had that many changes, it would definitely be their last dance. Exeter are a great team and they will definitely bring it this weekend.”
