Jones role back under scrutiny as Kerevi pulls out of autumn tour
Haustralia centre to stay with England coach’s Japanese team
hnew
twist in conflict between leading clubs and Test game
Eddie Jones’s consulting role with Suntory Sungoliath has come under further scrutiny after Samu Kerevi, Australia’s star centre, opted to stay with his Japanese club side rather than tour with the Wallabies and potentially face England at Twickenham.
On Monday, it was confirmed that Kerevi and back-rower Sean Mcmahon had decided not to travel to Europe for fixtures against Scotland, England and Wales next month.
Instead, despite World Rugby’s regulation nine decreeing that clubs should make their players available for their country during designated international windows, the pair are to remain in Japan to help Suntory prepare for the 2022 season, which begins in January.
It has been stressed to The Daily Telegraph that Jones, whose association with Suntory stretches back more than 20 years, had nothing to do with the decision.
Last year, the Rugby Football Union also defended Jones’s job with Suntory. “Eddie has had a consultancy agreement with Suntory for over 20 years,” a spokesperson said. “We have been aware and comfortable with that since he joined the RFU. He provides consultancy in his holidays and this role is in no way a conflict with his England team priorities.”
Even so, there is an obvious perception of a conflict of interests. As recently as last week, Jones praised the influence that Kerevi has had on a recent resurgence for the Wallabies, who are on a run of five consecutive Test wins. Kerevi had not featured for Australia since their loss to England in the 2019 World Cup quarter-final, but returned last month for the Rugby Championship as Rugby Australia loosened its eligibility rules. The same changes allowed Dave Rennie, the Australia head coach, to select fly-half Quade Cooper, whose availability for the tour is likely to be decided in the coming days following discussions with his Japanese club, the Kintetsu Liners. “The whole time, the boys have said that they want the support and blessing of the clubs to say they are happy to go,” said Rennie on Monday before revealing that the players in question had been “nervous about how their clubs would respond to them touring”.
Another episode in rugby union’s conflict between big-spending clubs and the Test game looks more jarring for the fact that Suntory have contributed eight players to Japan’s squad for matches against Ireland, Portugal and Scotland.
“It’s a bit of pressure on [Suntory] to win [the league],” Rennie said. “They’ve got a number of players away with the Japanese national team and they wanted those guys around for preparation and pre-season.
“We were disappointed, obviously. I know these boys have loved their time in the environment but they’ve made a decision on what their club needs. It wasn’t an easy decision for those guys but it’s what they’ve decided to do.”