Eddie Jones has walked away from the Australian men’s rugby union team, less than a year after signing a five-year contract as Wallabies coach.
It comes after the Wallabies had their worst performance at the Rugby World Cup in their history.
Who is Eddie Jones?
Jones first coached the Wallabies from 2001 to 2005. This included a second-place finish at the 2003 World Cup, which was held in Australia.
Jones helped South Africa win the 2007 World Cup and has also coached the national teams of Japan and England.
In January, Jones was named Wallabies coach again. This deal would have taken him through to the 2027 World Cup. He was also meant to oversee the Australian women’s national team, the Wallaroos, under the deal.
What went wrong?
After Jones became coach in January, the Wallabies lost their first five games.
Jones named a World Cup squad without many of its most experienced players. He appointed Will Skelton as Wallabies captain for the tournament — a role Skelton was reluctant to accept.
Jones won his first match in the Wallabies’ World Cup opener. Subsequent losses to Fiji and Wales saw Australia fail to make the knockout stages of the World Cup for the first time ever.
The resignation
The Nine papers reported on Friday that Jones told Rugby Australia he was open to walking away from his five-year contract. On Sunday, The Australian confirmed that Jones would exit with no payout.
The Nine papers also reported last month that Jones had interviewed for the coaching job for the Japanese rugby team before the World Cup. Jones has repeatedly denied this.
