Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan has revealed he moved quickly to snap up Eddie Jones for the Wallabies job after the coach was sacked by England without a restraint of trade clause.
Rugby Australia surprised the rugby world on Monday when they confirmed that Dave Rennie had been replaced by Jones as Wallabies head coach.
MORE: Wallabies dump Rennie, appoint Eddie
The news came 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.
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.
According to a report in the Telegraph, Jones held three secret meetings with Rugby Australia over 14 months, first starting in November 2021.
“We are great friends with the guys from the RFU,” McLennan told Telegraph Sport. “When we heard that Eddie had been cut we said: ‘Wow!’ “Then when we heard there was a non-compete [clause], we said: ‘Really!’
“There is no way I wanted someone like Eddie to go to one of my big competitors. His global knowledge of the game and our opposing sides is second to none. We didn’t want a rampaging Eddie on the loose.”
A statement from the RFU defended its decision to not place any restrictions on Jones.
“When the RFU ended Eddie’s role as England head coach, having considered both the legal and moral perspectives, it was decided it would be unreasonable to restrict Eddie in seeking alternative employment,” said an RFU spokesperson.
Photo: David Ramos – World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images
