Jones, whose position as Wallabies coach is in the air, was asked about the controversial decision to leave out Hooper, Cooper and Foley from his World Cup squad.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe situation reminded me of when Wayne Bennett let Wally Lewis go,\u201d Jones said. \u201cNo one could quite understand why, but Wally Lewis wasn\u2019t a great role model for the rest of the team. And for those guys, I don\u2019t think they were the right role models for the team going forward. Don\u2019t get me wrong, they\u2019re not bad guys. But you need guys \u2013 particularly when you\u2019ve got a team like Australia has at the moment \u2013 you need guys who are obsessed<\/i> with winning, obsessed <\/i>with being good, and those three are past those stages.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe [Hooper] is a great guy, but the timing is not right for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The comments came as a shock given Jones named Hooper as a Wallabies co-captain in June, alongside James Slipper. Will Skelton was eventually picked as captain for the World Cup but missed most of the tournament due to injury.<\/p>\n
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Eddie Jones left long-time Wallabies captain Michael Hooper out of the World Cup squad.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n Hooper declined to comment when contacted on Saturday, but was asked on Stan Sport\u2019s Rugby World Cup coverage on Sunday about a potentially awkward meeting with Jones this week when he plays for a Barbarians side that will be coached by Jones and Scott Robertson.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know [if it will be awkward]. It\u2019s going to be fun,\u201d Hooper said. \u201cI\u2019ve never worked \u2018Razor\u2019 Robertson before. What a track record he\u2019s got. I\u2019m really excited. I\u2019m just looking forward to the week and looking forward to playing at an amazing stadium against a pretty good team.<\/p>\n Asked if he had a response to Jones, Hooper said: \u201cI\u2019ve got no response. He\u2019s entitled to his own opinion as are we all as we\u2019re all fans of the game. He\u2019s a bit more of a fan and he\u2019s very involved in the game. I\u2019ve got nothing more to say. I\u2019m doing what I\u2019ve always done and I\u2019m hoping to do that next week when I play for the Barbarians and potentially sevens next year. I\u2019m going to carry on being the best player I can be.\u201d<\/p>\n Moore, the former Wallabies skipper who played alongside Hooper in the 2015 World Cup final, said he was surprised by Jones\u2019 comments.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought it was a bit unfair to be honest,\u201d he said. \u201cIn the context of everything else, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s something that necessarily was needed to be said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you look at someone like Hoops\u2019 contribution to the game since he\u2019s been playing in Australia, that\u2019s the last thing we need to be worrying about.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I think about the people that I played with, from the start of my career, he\u2019d be in the top half-a-dozen players that I played with because of his consistency. The way he could back up and compete near his best, we haven\u2019t had enough players like that, full stop, over the last few years.<\/p>\n Quade Cooper playing against the All Blacks in July.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s unfair and I feel strongly about supporting someone like Hoops, who I played a lot with at the Brumbies and Wallabies.\u201d<\/p>\n Horne was also stunned by Jones\u2019 remarks and provided a filtered version of his thoughts to this masthead.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s laughable,\u201d Horne said. \u201cHoops, Bernard and Quade\u2019s body of work speaks for itself.<\/p>\n Stephen Moore in action in 2013 against the British and Irish Lions.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Dallas Kilponen<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re genuinely respected across the world. It would be nice if we treated our players with the respect they\u2019ve earned.\u201d<\/p>\n Wallabies forward Jed Holloway backed Hooper, after also being left out of the World Cup squad.<\/p>\n Many of Hooper\u2019s teammates are reluctant to speak on the record given Jones is still coach, but there is certainly anger and tension about the remarks.<\/p>\n \u201cAs someone who has played with Hoops for 10-plus years, no one has been a better role model or more driven for success,\u201d Holloway wrote on social media. \u201cFirst guy in the building, last guy out, always wanting to help his teammates and challenges them to be the best. This is all getting old, we need to move on.\u201d<\/p>\n Bernard Foley.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n Moore supported Jones\u2019 appointment in January but cannot believe how badly things have unravelled since then.<\/p>\n Jones and Rugby Australia have taken the first steps towards negotiating an exit for the embattled Wallabies coach.<\/p>\n Australia won two of their nine Tests this year, with victories against Georgia and Portugal.<\/p>\n It was the first time the Wallabies have not progressed beyond the pool stage of a World Cup.<\/p>\n \u201cYou couldn\u2019t make this up if you tried,\u201d Moore said. \u201cI was excited when Eddie came to coach the Wallabies. There was a lot of positivity there. It just hasn\u2019t worked out that way and it\u2019s very disappointing.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can get rid of people and say, \u2018We need to change the people and change the culture\u2019, but unless you have got someone who can step into that role, particularly in a World Cup, it\u2019s counterproductive because now we have players who have largely lost every game this year and we\u2019re back where we started really.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d like to see more focus on how we develop more leadership in Australian rugby in terms of the playing ranks. A lot of it has been left to people like Hoops to carry the can because we just haven\u2019t had a strategy for developing on-field leadership across the country. We had six captains this year, so that goes to show you we\u2019re not sure who is the right person for the job. Some of the comments from Eddie might be in reference to the wider problem.\u201d<\/p>\n Another former Wallabies captain, James Horwill, said on the Stan Sport broadcast: \u201cI don\u2019t probably agree with some of the terminology used – and it might have been taken out of context – but moving forward we just have to get some clarity around this situation. There\u2019s too much white noise going on. For Australian rugby, we want to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n The Wallaroos have pulled off their best win in recent memory, belting women\u2019s rugby heavyweights France 29-20 in a mighty boilover.<\/p>\n Eva Karpani powered Australia with an unlikely hat-trick in Dunedin on Saturday, supported by Georgina Friedrich\u2019s first-half try and five-eighth Carys Dallinger\u2019s superb performance as playmaker.<\/p>\n The win is just Australia\u2019s second in history over France, with no form line suggesting a victory was on the cards.<\/p>\n In the WXV1 opener last week, Australia were thumped by England 42-7, while France inflicted world champions New Zealand\u2019s first loss in three years.<\/p>\n However, Jay Tregonning\u2019s side flew out the gates and kept up the intensity to stun the established order.<\/p>\n Tight-head prop Karpani \u2013 who had just one Test try to her name before Saturday \u2013 started the rout in the third minute, cashing in after Layne Morgan rode a ferocious tackle.<\/p>\n Carys Dallinger and Kaitlan Leaney celebrate the victory over France.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n Emilie Bouchard finished a counter-attacking move for France after 14 minutes, with Morgane Bourgeois\u2019 conversion tying the scores at 7-7.<\/p>\n Unlike their meeting with the Red Roses, Australia were able to hold on to possession for long spells, with Freidrich sidestepping her way to the team\u2019s second try after 10 phases.<\/p>\n Leading 12-10 at half-time, the Wallaroos didn\u2019t look back, with Karpani breaking through after another spell of long pressure totalling 22 phases.<\/p>\n After a superb line-out drive, Karpani executed a pick and drive to secure her hat-trick, with Arabella McKenzie\u2019s conversion blowing out the margin to 29-10.<\/p>\n Elisa Riffonneau and Gabrielle Vernier scored late tries but there was never a chance of a French comeback win.<\/p>\n \u201cIt feels absolutely amazing … I\u2019m so proud of us,\u201d Karpani said, before accidentally swearing in a broadcast interview, calling it a \u201cf—ing team effort\u201d.<\/p>\n The Wallaroos celebrated wildly after the final whistle, showing the magnitude of their triumph.<\/p>\n It is the first time they\u2019ve beaten a side ranked in the world\u2019s top three.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Wallaroos stun France in WXV win<\/h3>\n
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