EXCLUSIVE: Former Australia head coach Eddie Jones believes the British and Irish Lions couldn’t be heading Down Under at a worse time, claiming the Wallabies are on the verge of a new golden era for the national game.
Players and pundits alike believe the Lions have their best chance in years to topple the hosts thanks to the struggles that Robbie Deans and Australia have endured. The two-time World Champions endured a mixed 2012, finishing second in the Rugby Championship, 14 points adrift of rivals New Zealand, but finished the year strongly by beating England, Italy and Wales in Europe.
Coach Deans came under severe criticism during that time, but is trying to build a younger, fresher team and his provisional 25-man squad for the Lions series contains just two players in their 30s: hooker Stephen Moore and No8 Wycliff Palu.
Jones, who was part of the Australian coaching staff during the Lions last tour Down Under, thinks the wave of young Australian talent will overwhelm the Lions.
“It’s probably the worst time for the Lions to come over,” Jones told Sport360°. “Australia have a lot going for them, for the first time in a while we’ve got a real group of good, young players so I think the tours are going to be just as difficult as the previous tours with the Lions.
“The Lions haven’t done very well in recent years but they will be well prepared by Gatland, they’ll be strong, they’ll be muscular and they’ll be committed to a certain way of playing. It’s going to be a fantastic contest.”
In recent years Australia have struggled to play the same inspired rugby they are known for but Jones has sympathy with Deans, believing the country’s demographics aren’t in his favour.
READ MORE: Ex-Lions expect Gatland’s men to snap losing Australia run
While the mood around the Australian rugby team has been bleak over previous years, Jones couldn’t think more differently.
Possessing arguably the most talented backline in Will Genia, Quade Cooper, James O’Connor and Berrick Barnes supplemented by the power of James Horwill and David Pocock in the back row, Australia look well set for the future. Pocock will miss the series through injury but Deans has called up talented flankers Michael Hooper, 21, and Liam Gill, 20, both earmarked as potential superstars.
Jones added: “It’s a hard job. Australia of the top five countries in the world have the smallest playing base so we rely on having a good group sticking together.
“Robbie has brought in some good things, but we haven’t been able to get close to the All Blacks, and the Australians judge themselves against the All Blacks.
“But I think Will Genia is the best half back in the world by a mile, Quade Cooper is one of the best stand-offs in the world and then you add Pocock and Horwill and you have all those bits and pieces for a particularly strong team.
“I think a change of identity has been coming for a long time. We haven’t beaten New Zealand consistently since 2002 but now you have all these good players coming through at once. O’Connor, Gill, Hooper all these young players are coming through together at the same time.
“And this is what happens in Australian rugby, you get golden ages and I think a golden age is coming.
“It’s just circumstance, just a group of players coming together at the same time. Same as England in 2003.
“I was going through with someone the England side in 2003, and you couldn’t pick a stronger side, they had Phil Vickery, Ben Kay, Martin Johnson, Richard Hill, Jonny Wilkinson and they all came through at the same time and they all were at their peak at the same time.
“And that’s the thing with that team, they hit their peak just at the World Cup and fell off straight after. Who controls that? No one, it’s reality, it just happens.”
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Backs: Adam Ashley-Cooper (NSW Waratahs), James O’Connor (Melbourne Rebels), Nick Cummins (Western Force), Joe Tomane (Brumbies), Israel Folau (NSW Waratahs), Digby Ioane (Queensland Reds), Rob Horne (NSW Waratahs), Berrick Barnes (NSW Waratahs), Christian Lealiifano (Brumbies), Will Genia (Queensland Reds)
Forwards: Sekope Kepu (NSW Waratahs), Benn Robinson (NSW Waratahs), James Slipper (Queensland Reds), Ben Alexander (Brumbies), Saia Fainga’a (Queensland Reds), Stephen Moore (Brumbies), James Horwill (Queensland Reds), Sitaleki Timani (NSW Waratahs), Rob Simmons (Queensland Reds), Dave Dennis (NSW Waratahs), Liam Gill (Queensland Reds), Michael Hooper (NSW Waratahs), Scott Higginbotham (Melbourne Rebels), Ben Mowen (Brumbies), Wycliff Palu (NSW Waratahs)
READ MORE:
– EXCLUSIVE: Former British Lions expect Gatland’s men to snap losing Australia run
– PICTURE: Giant Lions shirt makes Dubai visit en route to Australia
– EXCLUSIVE: O’Driscoll backs Warburton to be a “wonderful” Lions captain
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