Eddie Jones left players at the Wallabies training camp stunned when he brought a cattle prod to the team’s first training session on the Gold Coast, according to reports in Australia.
The Wallabies assembled on the Gold Coast on Monday for their first World Cup training camp under Jones, who replaced Dave Rennie as head coach in January.
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According to a report in Australia’s Daily Mail, Jones, who is known for his out-of-the-box thinking, turned up the nerve factor when he brought a bright orange cattle prod to the first team meeting.
Jones reportedly used the prod to give out-of-form Reds winger Suliasi Vunivalu, whose inclusion in the training squad was questioned, a wake-up call.
Holding the prod, Jones walked into the meeting brandishing the prod and asked: “Where’s Suli?”
Fortunately for the big winger and the rest of the Wallabies, the cattle prod went untested as they went through their training sessions.
“I’ve seen Vunivalu play for Melbourne Storm. I’ve seen him play in NRL. I’ve seen bits and pieces of his play for Australia A, and bits and pieces of what he’s done for Queensland,’ Jones told the Australian media.
“There’s a lot of gaps in his game at the moment. But our job as coaches is to help him fill the gaps. So if you’ve got a cattle prod at training get it out, it might help him!”
Photo: Chris Hyde/Getty Images