Will old rival Gatland finally end it for Eddie?
Australia on brink of elimination if they fail to beat Wales
THEY are two old dogs ofwar, veteran coacheswith the experience of 10World Cups betweenthem who are preparingto do battle for theseventh time tonight. Warren Gatland andEddie Jones have bothbeen there, done it, gotthe T-shirt.The current head-to-headbetweenthem reads Jones:4 Gatland:2.ButWales and Gatland are confident ofpeggingback one this evening.
‘In a strange way, we’re probablyboth going through the samethings,’ Gatland said thisweek.
He’s right. Both coaches havebeen parachuted into their teams atthe 11th hour ahead of this WorldCup and are planning for thefuturewith young players. But at the same-time, Gatlandand Jones are in very different places.
Wales have won their first twoWorld Cup poolmatches and havesome confidence behind them. Australia, after their defeat againstFijilast Sunday, are fighting to stayin the tournament when the sidesmeet in Lyontonight.
Wales will reach the World Cupquarter-finals with a win. AnAustralia defeat and effectiveearlyexit will heap more pressure onJones.
The Australian has won only oneof sevengames since returning tohis country’s toprugby job, the 3515against underdogs Georgia onthe opening weekend of theWorldCup.
Fighting for his life with theWallabies, Jones, in typical style,firedplentyofshotsthisweek. ‘Youget more people when they smellblood,’he said, addressing a packed-press conference.
Jones admitted that he had ‘letAustralian rugby down’ sincere turnin gfollowing hissacking by-England last December.
But he also said he had‘ nodoubt’Australia will beat Wales.
He and Gatland have always beenmedia masters. They know whichbuttons to push in the press andwith their teams.
However, ahead of this latestencounter, you could make a goodargument that while Gatland’smethods are still working, Jonesisstruggling to deliver.
His in satiable work ethic—4 ammessages to his assistants and attimes enormous demands on hisstaff—often produces a short-termresponse. But he burned throughstaffmembers with England, manyof whom were unable to handlehim.
Gatland, incontrast, blendshardwork on thefield with a family-first-approach of fit,something which ispopular with everyoneunderhim.
‘He has a laugh and a joke sometimesand when it comes down towork, you just work,’ said LiamWilliams, the Walesfull-back.
‘That is what we have done for thelast six months and every time IhaveworkedunderWarren. Manyyears ago, he knew how to pressthe right button to get a reactionand get me playing well. He justused to blankme! Itused to really get on my nerves.
‘If I played well, I would have abig smile onmy face and he wouldjust walk past me. It would reallyget me annoyed.
‘Then I would train in the week,work my nuts off, and play wellagain. He would say: “I knew youwould play well this week”. It’slittle things like that. He knowswhat buttons to press to get thebest out of people.’
What ever Gatland is doing behindthe scenes, it is working. He hasachieved one of his stated aims inputting pride back in the Walesshirt at what is his fifth WorldCup,arecord.
Gatland has had 16 World Cupmatch wins asa coach. Jones is onebehind. But Jones has only everlost four World Cup games, twoofthem finals, in 2003 and 2019.
Jones is taking all the heat forAustralia’s current struggles. Hehasn’t helped himself with pressconference outbursts and teamselection. But his players are alsounder performing.
Wales goin to tonight’s match withanexperienced spine to their team,many ofwhom were rested for theround two win over Portugal, supplemented with as matteringofyouthful exuberance. They alsohave the advantage of two bonus point wins already inthe bag.
Australia’s defeat and World Cupelimination would cause uproarback home: no Australianteam hasfailed to make it out of the poolstages at aWorld Cup.
Jones has lost Will Skelton andTaniela Tupouto injury and droppedCarter Gordon, his only specialistNo 10. But you can never write offaJones side.
‘We will put our hands up, we gotspooked,’ said James Slipper, Australia’s prop, after the22-15loss to Fiji. ‘We were one secondlate,one second too slow. It’s one ofthose things we’ve got to get right.’
Tonight promises to be tight, withWales looking to dominate theterritory and kicking battles.Should Dan Biggar edge his No 10clash with Gordon’s replacementBen Donaldson, Wales should behopeful of coming out on top. Itwould send them to the last eightand leave Jones in meltdown.