Why Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh called Eddie Jones ‘admirable’ despite his dumpster fire stint as Wallabies coach

Rugby Australia boss Phil Waugh has thrown outgoing coach Eddie Jones a bizarre compliment and denied knowledge of any player unrest after the worst secret in the sport became reality on Tuesday.

After a disastrous run of being hammered in the Bledisloe Cup and making history as the first Australian team to fail to escape the pool stage of a World Cup, Jones’ tenure as Wallabies coach has finally ended.

Rugby Australia signed Jones on an ambitious five-year deal but his tenure ended just 10 months into his tenure.

The curtain finally fell on Tuesday when Jones announced that he would be stepping down as head coach of the Wallabies.

However, despite his shopping list of failures in his second coming as Wallabies coach, Waugh was full of praise for Jones. 

Former Wallaby Phil Waugh is now Rugby Australia chief executive and he was quite impressed with the way the Eddie Jones quit his post

‘Hindsight is a wonderful thing, if you make decisions at any time during your career and you get presented information at the time and you make decisions based on that information and where we ended up is clearly not good enough,’ Waugh said.

‘It may have been different, it may not have been different and it is a decision we have to live with and as I said it is a disappointing result.

‘I think we ended up with a sensible outcome.

‘I think the way Eddie has handled this process has been admirable.’

There has also been speculation of player unrest that led to Jones falling on his sword.

The former Wallabies coach made the hugely controversial decision to leave seasoned veterans Michael Hooper, Quade Cooper and Bernard Foley out of his World Cup squad in France. 

Instead he blooded a host of raw young players that had been competing in a watered-down Super Rugby competition still reeling from South African and Argentina withdrawing their teams.

Wallabies players look dejected after they were hammered by New Zealand to lose both the Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championship

Michael Hooper (left) and Quade Cooper (right) were two veteran players controversially left out of the World Cup squad

Waugh pled ignorance, though, when it came to talk about player unrest. 

‘Not that I am aware of,’ Waugh said.

 ‘I can categorically say I was not aware of it. I definitely was not aware of any player unrest.’

Jones was also accused of conducting a job interview with Japanese Rugby while still working as Wallabies coach, claims he has denied.

However he is not the short-price favourite to return to the Asian nation to continue his international career.

Waugh said there would be no further investigation into that alleged interview.  

‘I genuinely don’t think that level of inquiry is required of me, I have a very good relationship with all national unions, including Japan, I took Eddie at his word,’ Waugh said. 

‘I don’t think it changes the position where we’re at now, whether Eddie was to stay or go.’