Eddie Jones’ second term with the Wallabies commences at Loftus Versfeld in July when Australia’s Rugby Championship kicks off against the Springboks in Pretoria.

Jones, who was dumped by England in December, will start his second tenure with the Wallabies on January 29 on a contract that will take him through until the 2027 World Cup in Australia and which includes a home British and Irish Lions series in 2025.

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The 62-year-old previously coached the Wallabies between 2001 and 2005, winning the then-Tri Nations in his first season in charge and taking Australia to the 2003 World Cup final.

In an exclusive wide-ranging interview with the Herald and Nine News, Jones was asked about the prospect of coaching the Wallabies in the next Lions series.

“I’m speaking like a coach here, the only thing I’m really thinking about is the next World Cup,” said Jones. “Even the Rugby Championship, we’ve got South Africa away [in July]. That’s always a pivotal game to get that right. We’ve got five games leading into the World Cup. We want to win the World Cup.

“Dave’s left the team in a good position to win the World Cup. I think they showed a lot of courage on the last tour to Europe and now we’ve got to build on that.”

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When asked about his biggest challenge in 2023, Jones outlined the importance of getting off to a good start against the Springboks.

“The biggest thing is to make sure we work out what are the areas that are most important to improving. Everyone will have an opinion on Australian rugby or the Wallabies and there will probably be 500 things. It’s about picking out the one, two or three things that will make the biggest difference.

“It’s about getting alignment on that with players and the coaching staff and then we dive into those areas with the utmost relentlessness and absolute pursuit of excellence. If we get that right, the team will continue to improve and grow and we’ll start the Rugby Championship off on a good note against South Africa.

“What a good way to start off,” Jones added. “South Africa is a side that we know are going to play set-piece to set-piece and kick the ball in the air. It’s almost the opposite of how an Australian team wants to play. We’ll need to be at our best to beat them.”

Photo: Gallo Images/Steve Haag