Eddie Jones has outlined his desire for the Wallabies to stop being a “copycat of New Zealand” and return to the instinctive strengths of Australian rugby.
The Wallabies will officially begin their second era under Jones when they take on the Springboks in the Rugby Championship opener at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
Having been shown the door by England, Jones was re-appointed as Australia’s head coach after the Wallabies endured a poor 2022 under Dave Rennie. This included, ironically, a home series loss to Jones’ England side and a return of no wins during the November tour.
“Tactically we need to shift, I think,” Jones told The Good, The Bad & The Rugby Australia podcast with Wallabies legends Drew Mitchell, Matt Giteau and Adam Ashley-Cooper.
“We’ve probably been a copycat of New Zealand for a while, and we need to get back to playing Australian rugby.
“Which I think is a bit more innovative, off-the-cuff. You look at the State of Origin, and most of the tries came from instinctive play from the Queensland players.
“And I think that’s always been the power of Australian rugby. Whilst you need to have some structure, you need to allow the players to do that (play instinctively).
“So we’ll be able to play a big power game, but a fast game, as well.”
Jones is confident that his goal will be achievable thanks to the unique athleticism of the Wallabies’ players, many of whom have switched from rugby league.
“Tell you what they’ve got power, I’ve never seen such powerful athletes,” added Jones.
“Taniela (Tupou), Pone (Fa’amausili, prop) is pretty powerful for 10 minutes, he’ll get better … (Samu) Kerevi, (Marika) Koroibete, (Suliasi) Vunivalu – it’s a big, powerful team.
“But the big thing is to work together. If you look at Australia over the last period of time how many games they’ve lost closely, that’s generally about how hard you fight for each other. It’s very rarely a tactical thing.”
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