EDDIE JONES INSISTED he is committed to Australia after watching his side slump to a record World Cup defeat to Wales which all but confirms they will miss out on the knockout stages for the first time.
The Wallabies were beaten 40-6 by Wales in Lyon and the result will ramp up the pressure on Jones after a desperate year for Australian rugby. Fiji will now advance from Pool C if they can take five points from their games against Georgia and Portugal.
The former England boss, who replaced Dave Rennie as Wallabies head coach in January, opened his post-game press conference tonight with an apology to Australia supporters, before repeatedly stating his wish is to remain in the job.
“I feel responsibility for it,” Jones said of the performance. “We’re going through a hard, tough time at the moment. Whether we’ve hit rock bottom, I don’t know, but we’ve got to take full responsibility for that.
“I came back to Australia to try to help,” he continued.
“At the moment I’m not getting much help, am I? But that doesn’t mean my commitment to help has changed.
“There’s not only the Wallabies that have got to improve, the whole system has got to improve.
I remain committed to the Australia project. I still believe I am the person to turn things around.
“We have worked non-stop since my arrival. I am fully committed to this team. That cannot be questioned.”
Before tonight’s game, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Jones had been interviewed by Japan Rugby to take over as their head coach only days before the Wallabies kicked off their World Cup campaign in France.
When asked about those reports tonight, Jones replied: “I don’t know what you are talking about, mate. I am committed to coaching Australia.”
When he continued to be questioned about the links to Japan, he threatened to end the press conference early.
“I remain committed to the Australia project.
“I really take umbrage with the questioning, that people are questioning my commitment to coaching Australia. I’ve been working non-stop since I’ve come in and I apologise for the result, I keep saying that.
“To doubt my commitment to the job I think is a bit red-hot, so we’re not going to deal with any of those questions any further. So I’m happy to talk about Wales, I’m happy to talk about Portugal, but if you want to keep going down that line I’ll excuse myself.”
When asked to assess his time in charge so far, Jones said any decision on his future will lie with Australia Rugby.
“I was put in this job to turn Australia around. I don’t think I could have done it with the players that had been playing. I think we needed a fresh change.
“Sure, young guys struggled in the environment today but unless they get that experience they are not going to mature into the players they can be. This is the most painful time, don’t get me wrong, but it’s also the best learning time for young players. This is where they really learn about the game and learn what you need for test level.
“There is not a team I have coached that hasn’t been through this at the start of their tenure.
“I can’t judge on that (if the decision to bring him in has failed), can I? Because whenever we start the job you want to win games and create the best team we can but there is a process involved. As soon as you start to talk about a process people think you are trying to take pressure off yourself.
“A process unfortunately takes time, takes some pain. Sometimes it takes more pain than it does pleasure, I have no doubt what I set out to do. While it looks at the moment like it’s a shambles, I can guarantee it’s not.”