Ikitau jokes as Australia prepares to face former coach in Japan test
Australia exited the pool stages for the first time and, to make matters worse, Jones, who had a five-year contract with RA, began doing a Zoom interview about the head coach vacancy in the middle of the tour with Japan.
A few weeks later Jones cited broken funding promises and resigned as Wallabies coach, and no-one was in a rush to stop him. Jones was appointed coach of Japan 45 days later.
Eddie Jones watches the Wallabies’ training session in Melbourne in 2023.Credit: Getty
Fast forward 22 months and a lot of water has passed under the bridge for the resurgent Wallabies. But not enough to completely eliminate the remaining pain. Witness the quips of freshman center Ikitau, who Jones inexplicably ignores.
But while it may have been good theater for the Wallabies to step up and seek revenge against Jones this week, the reality is a bit more complicated in many ways.
For starters, most of Jones’ 2023 Rugby World Cup squad will not be in Tokyo this week. The 10 survivors from the 33-man squad that went to France are in the Wallabies camp in Japan and are competing to play.
For various reasons, 14 of Jones’ World Cup squad have not played a single Test since, with the other two playing one and two Tests respectively.
Some were injured, some changed countries or codes, and some could not enter the administration of Schmidt, who went through his own selection process. But the new coach immediately recalled most of the senior players Jones had cut, and Schmidt even built a team around them: Harry Wilson, Jake Gordon, Noah Lolesio, Ikitau and Tom Wright.
A further 14 new players in the current Wallabies spring tour squad are due to be bled in 2024 or 2025.
“Obviously we are all very excited to go to Japan,” Wilson said. “A lot of us haven’t played there and Japan is a really good opponent. We’re definitely not focusing on the fact that Eddie Jones is the coach. It’s a reunion of sorts for quite a few players but we’re really excited to get out there and do some work.”
It would be nice to beat Eddie, right?
Len Ikitau looks to break through the Lions defence.Credit: Getty Images
“It would be absolutely lovely. You want to win every Test match and I’m sure a few of the lads would absolutely love it,” Wilson said. “But like I said, we were very focused on ourselves and making sure we went out there and did the job.”
Wilson was diplomatic as captain and it must be said that some Wallabies players credited Jones with giving him his first Test cap or improving under him. But privately, there are no shortage of Wallabies players still shaking their heads at the chaos and disappointment of 2023.
Complicating the revenge narrative is the fact that most of the victims are no match for their former coaches in Tokyo.
Ikitau is in England and Lolesio and Wright have long-term injuries. Wilson could also find himself on the bench, given the Wallabies play five Tests in 30 days and Schmidt has signaled he plans to rest players with large workloads over the winter.
“It would be nice to play the Japan game but right now I’m at Exeter,” Ikitau told reporters on Friday night. “I’ve just come into camp with these boys and for me it’s about gaining their trust. So as nice as it is to play against Uncle Eddie, my whole focus right now is Exeter.”
This strategy of Schmidt will allow a group of overlooked players to step aside in the 2023 World Cup, and players such as Hunter Paisami, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Pete Samu and Filipo Daugunu will have the chance to remind Jones of his mistake.
But given they’ve been mostly on the Wallabies’ sidelines this year, this group is probably more focused on proving something to Schmidt than Jones.
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Strangely enough, Carter Gordon returned and appeared in most categories. He was backed and sacked by Jones in 2023 and has not played a single Test since. But after a stint in the league, he is now back with the Wallabies and looking to rebuild his rugby career.
Schmidt said he had not heard any talk of the Wallabies wanting to beat Jones.
“I haven’t heard that said among the players,” Schmidt said. “It was before my time. I started 18 months ago, and in those 18 months, none of the discussions were about what had gone before.
“[The focus is on] it is an investment in their performance rather than anything they might want to prove to someone else.”
