Eddie Jones (rugby Union) - Coaching Career

Coaching Career

Eddie Jones coached the ACT Brumbies to their first ever Super 12 title in 2001 and was subsequently appointed as head coach of the Australian national rugby union team, the Wallabies. He took Australia to the final of the 2003 Rugby World Cup falling one match short losing to England in the final match.

In 2005, the Wallabies lost seven straight games and at the end of the Wallabies European tour had lost eight of their last nine matches. On 2 December 2005 whilst having two more years left on his contract was terminated as the Wallabies head coach. While the Australian Rugby Union had ordered a report into the Wallabies after the season including a review of Jones's position as head coach, it has been speculated that the Wallabies' loss to Wales was why Jones was removed as head coach before the investigation had even begun. His win-loss ratio is the lowest of any Wallabies coach.

Just over a month after Jones was relieved of his position as Wallabies head coach, he was signed to a three year deal to the Queensland Reds to take over as head coach. Jones had expressed interest in the job after current Queensland Reds coach Jeff Miller was advised his contract would not be renewed at the end of the 2006 season. He spent the first half of 2006, helping out with the Saracens F.C. club in England. In 2007 he has since returned to Australia and is in his first year coaching the Queensland Reds in the extended Super 14 competition. He has been approached by the Fiji Rugby Union to join Fiji rugby as a technical advisor to the 2007 Rugby World Cup. The Queensland Reds in 2007 finished bottom of the Super Rugby table and had only managed two wins the entire season. Injury spells meant Jones at times was to do without up to 8 regulars to his starting team, including the loss of influential Wallabies fullback Chris Latham even before the season started. Jones hinted that he would probably never coach in Australia again, thus potentially closing the door on his long held ambition to return as coach of the Wallabies.