Defiant coach Eddie Jones has turned on the media as the Wallabies prepared to fly out of Sydney for the Rugby World Cup in France minus their attack coach Brad Davis.
Winless in four Tests since replacing Dave Rennie and taking on his second stint as Australia coach in January, the pressure on Jones has rocketed ahead of the tournament which gets underway next month.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Eddie Jones lashes out at ‘disrespectful’ question.
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He made a number of shock selection choices last week in his World Cup squad, including dumping long-time captain Michael Hooper and veteran playmaker Quade Cooper.
The latter refused to answer calls from Jones, with the coach describing the 35-year-old as “very upset” about his omission.
“I tried to ring him and I can’t get a hold of him – that’s all I can do,” Jones said.
His assistant Davis this week quit, leaving the Wallabies without an attack coach ahead of their World Cup opener against Georgia in Paris on September 10 (AEST).
They face hosts France in a pre-tournament Test on Monday August 28.
Jones said Davis, who only took on the role in May, had resigned for family reasons and insisted he already had a replacement in mind.
“There’s an opportunity for us … we’ll improve our coaching staff,” Jones said.
“There’s a potential candidate ready to step up now.”
A testy Jones was unhappy to be probed about his player selection at Sydney airport before the team’s departure and said the media were too negative.
“I know what’s wrong with Australian rugby and you blokes are part of the problem because you’re so bloody negative about everything,” Jones said.
“We’re going off to a World Cup you think we can’t win. You think the selection process is bad because the players complain, so I apologise for that.
“Tell us we’re terrible and we will prove you wrong.
“I can feel this negativity, I’ve got to wash myself off, it’s sticking to me.
“Thanks for the worst press conference I’ve ever had in world rugby. Well done, the worst I’ve ever seen.”
The Wallabies are looking to best their 2019 quarter-final loss against against a Jones-coached England side in Japan.
Jones said he felt “much more confident” than he did when he took over about the chances of the Australians succeeding at the game’s global showpiece.
“We’ve got the right squad now, we’ve got the right balance of energy, enthusiasm and youth on our side; we’re ready to go,” he said.
“Yesterday our training was the best I’ve seen by a mile … we’re ready to show the world what we can do.”
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