Brad Davis, who held coaching roles at English clubs Bath, Ospreys and London Irish, was named on Eddie Jones’s staff in May and departs after four successive Test defeats with the Wallabies this season
Australia head coach Eddie Jones is feeling the pressure after four defeats in four to start his second stint in charge of the team
Australia head coach Eddie Jones launched an attack on the media, saying they had dragged the nation’s rugby down with “negativity”, after confirming attack coach Brad Davis had quit his staff ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Davis, who held coaching roles at English clubs Bath, Ospreys and London Irish, was named on Jones’ staff in May and departs after four successive Test defeats with the Wallabies this season.
Asked whether it was Davis’ decision to stand down, the former England coach Jones – who has yet to win a Test in his second stint in charge of Australia – said: “Yeah, we had a discussion.”
Jones then lost his patience with questions about his World Cup squad named last week and his shock omissions of long-time captain Michael Hooper and fly-half Quade Cooper.
- Rugby World Cup: Michael Hooper and Quade Cooper left out of Australia squadRugby World Cup 2023 fixturesRugby World Cup 2023 Pools
Former Australia captain Michael Hooper was a surprise omission from the Australia squad for the 2023 World Cup
“I think he’s very upset, mate,” Jones said of Cooper when adding that he had not returned his calls.
“I know you blokes think we can’t do anything (at the World Cup), so don’t ask any questions, boys,” he said. “Just be the pessimists you are. Keep Australian rugby where it’s been, keep it where it’s been.
“I know what’s wrong with Australian rugby and part of you blokes are the problem. I can’t believe the level of negativity here. You’re so negative about everything.
“We’re going off to a World Cup you think we can’t win. Tell us we’re terrible and we will prove you wrong.
“I can feel this negativity – I’ve got to wash myself off because it’s just sticking to me. If you haven’t got anything positive to say, don’t ask please.
“Complain about players that don’t get selected. Keep doing about that because it’s fantastic, we love it.”
Australia, currently ranked eighth in the world, are winless in their last four matches, suffering back-to-back defeats against New Zealand following losses to Argentina and South Africa.
Richie Mo’unga kicked a last-minute penalty to secure a 23-20 victory over Australia in the 2023 Bledisloe Cup
Jones, however, said he was “more confident” than ever about Australia’s prospects after a training camp in the tropical north of the country.
“I think we’ve got the right squad now,” he said. “I think we’ve got the right balance of energy and enthusiasm, we’re ready to go.
“None of you guys think we can do any good, so that’s all right. The challenge is for us as a group to show you we can, show ourselves we can.”
Australia captain Tate McDermott says he is gutted after a late defeat to New Zealand in the Bledisloe Cup but insists his side are heading in the right direction
Jones also told reporters there was a “potential candidate” ready to replace Davis as attack coach but that it won’t be Scott Wisemantel, who formerly held the role.
He said he had approached Wisemantel, who resigned from the Wallabies in January, but that he was “unavailable”.
Jones ended the media session by saying: “Thanks for the worst press conference I’ve ever had in world rugby. Well done – the worst I’ve ever seen.”
Australia begin their Rugby World Cup campaign against Georgia on Saturday September 9 at the Stade de France in Saint Denis, Paris and are also drawn alongside Wales, Fiji and Portugal in Pool C.
