Former Wallabies have had a mixed reaction to Rugby Australia’s shock move to replace Dave Rennie with Eddie Jones, with some hailing the return of the ex-England head coach.
Rugby Australia confirmed on Monday that Rennie had been replaced by Jones as Wallabies head coach.
MORE: Wallabies dump Rennie, appoint Eddie
The move comes less than a week after the Wallabies held their first training camp of the year, overseen by Rennie, and months before the World Cup gets underway in France.
Rennie, who took over from Michael Cheika at the end of 2019, was shown the door just eight months out from the global showpiece after only five wins from 14 Tests last year.
Jones, who was dumped by England in December, will start 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.
Former Wallabies took to social media to react to the news, with ex-wing Drew Mitchell sharing his concern and questioning why Rugby Australia chiefs weren’t also held accountable for the poor results in 2022.
At what point does the focus turn on the people who make the appointments in the first place??
These tweets aren’t about my thoughts on who or who shouldn’t be the man in charge.
To some extent, feels like history is repeating itself.
— Drew Mitchell (@drew_mitchell) January 15, 2023
Meanwhile, the likes of Matt Giteau, Tim Horan and Ben Alexander were more upbeat about Jones’ return and backed him to provide the quick-fix that the Wallabies are looking for.
Eddie back ?? I feel for Rennie but at the same time if anyone can turn things around quickly it’s Eddie
Some of the boys won’t know what’s hit them ??
— Matt Giteau ?? (@giteau_rugby) January 15, 2023
Eddie Jones as new Wallabies coach……brave and has some risk. But maybe a risk worth taking considering the Wallabies current win/loss ratio.
Need a Bledisloe Cup (within 2 years) and RWC Semi and Lions win to jusity the decision.
Strap yourself in for the ride.
— Tim Horan (@TimHoran12) January 15, 2023
A proven track record + some hard lessons learned + a point to prove = good times ahead for the wallabies imo
— Ben Alexander (@benny_alexander) January 16, 2023
Former wing Lote Tuqiri said that he felt for Rennie, but also backed Jones to produce results in a high-pressure situation.
Really unfortunate for Dave Rennie! I could see what he was trying to do but ultimately didn’t get enough W’s in the end. Eddie under massive pressure to perform but he does do well in these situations. Players should probably pack their mirrors for his 1st camp in charge ?
— Lote Tuqiri ???? (@LoteTuqiri) January 16, 2023
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