Rugby Australia (RA) chairman Hamish McLennan has explained that he and newly appointed Wallabies coach Eddie Jones were in discussions for him to take the job almost 14 months earlier.
On Monday morning, it was announced that Dave Rennie had been sacked by RA with Jones to step in for his second stint as national coach.
McLennan said that opportunistic timing and a poor Spring Tour resulted in Jones becoming the man in charge for the next two Rugby World Cups.
“He’s the best coach in the world, he’s an Aussie, he’s a classic Sydney sider and he understands Rugby and our competitive dynamic,” McLennan told SEN 1170 Mornings on Jones.
“He was absolutely on the radar and we’ve been talking to him since November of 2021.
“We were thinking (of hiring him) from 2024 onwards (and) then we literally fell off our chair when he got cut by the RFU (Rugby Football Union).
“We then had a poor Spring Tour and didn’t perform to our expectations so we just thought we’d capture Eddie for 2023.
“Give ourselves the best opportunity to win (the World Cup) in 2023.
“He’ll deliver results for us.”
Rennie exits the role with just a 38% win percentage as coach across the three years in charge; the lowest for any Wallabies coach with 15 or more games at the helm.
McLennan further added that the decision to hire Jones was made by the RA board alone and without the consultation of the players.
“We didn’t consult (the players) at all,” McLennan said.
“It was a decision made by the board as we administer and oversee the whole game.
“The board felt it was the right thing to do and it was a unanimous decision of the board to hire Eddie.
“Some players are really unsettled while some players are really up for it.
“There will be change and there’ll be continued change with RA on the administrative side.
“On the whole, it was the right thing to do and I’m comfortable with the decision.”