Rare is the coach who not only wins but talks a world-class game, too. Eddie Jones is the modern prototype but three decades ago there was another Australian guru named Jones with an even sharper tongue. Alan Jones was in charge of the 1984 grand slam-winning Wallabies, one of the finest teams to tour these islands, and makes today’s front men sound like quiet suburban accountants.
Not so long ago Jones suggested the best thing Australia’s then coach, Robbie Deans, could do to assist the national side was to shut up and stay at home in bed. He has been equally scathing about the head honchos at the Australian Rugby Union from the pulpit of his Sydney radio talkback show, although a serious health scare in June did briefly remove him from the airwaves. Jones, now 76, spent a week in intensive care being treated for septicaemia, an experience which left him “feeling like I’ve gone 15 rounds with Muhammad Ali”.
Related: Wallabies no longer just believe they can beat the All Blacks – they know it | Bret Harris
Continue reading...