Gibson not up to it, says Jones
Grand Slam-winning Wallabies coach Alan Jones believes the time is right for Daryl Gibson to step aside as Waratahs coach and has called for more Australian-based talent to be given a chance at provincial level.
Jones has also said star NSW fullback Israel Folau, is ‘‘very overrated’’.
The Waratahs slumped to their sixth loss from eight starts on Friday after succumbing to the Southern Kings 26-24 in what was one of the biggest upsets in recent Super Rugby memory.
In an extended interview Jones, who coached the Wallabies’ famous Grand Slam-winning side in 1984, said that while the Waratahs could turn things around in their ongoing quest to play finals football, there needed to be a new man in charge.
‘‘This man was entitled to have a go given he’d been in the side, but plainly – and I don’t mean this personally – he’s not up to it … he’s got to go,’’ Jones said.
‘‘There are proven Australian [coaches] who can’t get a gig in provincial Super Rugby and it’s a mystery to me why. Daryl’s got to accept it’s him [to go].
‘‘He’s got to accept the responsibilities for the decisions. It’s hard to know who picks these coaches. Often the people who pick coaches don’t know anything about coaching.
‘‘There are very good Australian coaches who have been overlooked over and over again but we persist with the imports coming here.
‘‘We had Robbie Deans coaching Australia, this fellow coaching NSW and there are outstanding coaches here.
‘‘Now we don’t know who appoints all these coaches. This is the nonsense that people are given very significant provincial coaching jobs when they’ve never coached anyone, this is ridiculous.’’
Jones tuned into the match on Friday despite having almost given up on Super Rugby, which is struggling for television viewers and crowds.
‘‘There seems to be a total absence of skill. There’s too much time spent in the gym, not enough time with ball and not enough theory.’’
Despite being the Waratahs’ equal leading try-scorer this year, Folau is clearly not impressing Jones, who believes his superstar tag is not justified.
‘‘Israel is very over-rated,’’ Jones said.
‘‘There’s so much hype around Israel. This is part of the problem.
‘‘No one ever talked about Mark Ella like that. We had outstanding players, no one player got singled out.
‘‘Israel can’t pass the ball ... I’d have him going up and down the paddock passing left and right. He can’t set people up, there’s no coaching about any of this.’’