Wallabies warrior James Slipper admits Eddie Jones’ “no hardness” claims contained “elements” of truth as he prepares to captain Australia for the 15th time against Wales on Saturday.
Former Wallabies coach Jones made the explosive comments as part of Stan’s behind the scenes documentary The Wallabies – Inside Rugby World Cup 2023.
In one of many fascinating scenes, Jones demanded the Wallabies train the day after their devastating 40-6 loss to Wales in Lyon in October.
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The defeat was the heaviest in Australian World Cup history and all but ensured they would fail to qualify for the quarter-finals for the first time.
“That’s the problem mate. We’ve got no hardness about us,” now Japan coach Jones told veteran prop Slipper on the training pitch in Saint-Etienne (watch the exclusive video in the player at the top of the page).
“Like, you know, game hardness is different than any sort of hardness – when you just stick in the f—ing game and do it.
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“Like, there’s none of that in Australian rugby now. And that’s where the big gap is, mate. Like you look at those Welsh players, mate. They play 30 games a year. They’re hardened, tough players so they can just stick at it. They know they’ve got to do it. And we’ve just lost that in Australian rugby.”
Slipper, who is renowned for playing through the pain barrier, listened intently to Jones but did not respond verbally.
The 135 Test veteran was asked about that diplomatic response on Friday ahead of the rematch with Wales at Melbourne’s AAMI Park.
NEW PODCAST! Michael Atkinson and Iain Payten discuss the Wallabies win over Wales, Rugby Australia taking control of the Brumbies and much more
“Do you still want me to be diplomatic? Alright. Look, mate, to be honest, like last year, you know, it is what it is,” Slipper said.
“Really, everyone in this circle knows what happened. Most of the fans, rugby fans, sporting fans, know what happened. So I’m not going to spell it out again but for us as a group, we’re moving forward. We want to do our talking on the field.”
Slipper was then asked whether Jones’ assessment was accurate.
“The hardness? Oh I’m sure there’s elements of it,” the loosehead said.
“Like, you know, Eddie’s been around a long time. He’s coached all over the world so he’d have a fair idea of what he was talking about.
“Once again, mate, like, I stand here in front of you, I’m really struggling to talk about last year when we’ve got a really good game this weekend coming. So that’s probably my focus right now…
“We’re obviously coming off a lean year. But we’ve got a new group, new staff, and we got that win last week, so the challenge for us now is to replicate it.”
That win was 25-16 in Sydney, handing Wales their eighth loss in a row.
Now the Wallabies are seeking to win consecutive Tests for the first time since a five game winning streak in 2021.
Slipper, who was Wallabies captain 10 times in 2022, will be standing in for first Test skipper Liam Wright.
Australia coach Joe Schmidt said he couldn’t gamble on Wright’s fitness after the flanker injured his right shoulder and left the field in the 57th minute at Allianz Stadium.
“I didn’t see it coming,” Slipper said, admitting he was a reluctant captain.
“It’s pretty unfortunate for Liam to miss out. I’ll just take the reins for the week.”
Schmidt is confident in Slipper’s stand in ability.
“He’ll do a great job,” said Schmidt, who took over as coach in January after Jones’ tumultuous tenure.
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“Fantastic experience. It’s that quiet leadership we need. That quiet resolve he brings to his work will hopefully ripple through the team.”
In other Wallabies moves, Charlie Cale, the 23-year-old Brumbies backrower, was given his starting debut at No.8, moving Rob Valetini from the back of the scrum to the side to cover for Wright.
Schmidt also made multiple changes on the bench, including a potential debut for Queensland hooker Josh Nasser, the son of 1991 World Cup winner Brendan Nasser.
“It’s one of the things that we want to demonstrate – that we’re a squad orientated group,” Schmidt said.
Wales coach Warren Gatland made two injury enforced changes and two positional changes as his team bids for a series levelling victory.
No.8 Aaron Wainwright and winger Josh Hathaway were ruled out after sustaining hamstring and elbow injuries in Sydney.
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Gatland moved Liam Williams from fullback to the wing and recalled Cameron Winnett at No.15.
Taine Plumtree shifted from the blindside flank to No.8 to replace Wainwright, with James Botham – grandson of legendary England cricketer Ian – coming into the starting backrow and Mackenzie Martin called up for the bench.
“We’ve been going through our processes, building on what worked well and sharpening the areas that need improvement,” Gatland said.
“We expect Australia to go up another level this weekend and we know we need to as well.”
Wales is looking to end a eight match losing streak that began last year in the World Cup quarter-finals, continued with five losses in the Six Nations tournament and extended to June when they lost to world champions South Africa in London.
Wales haven’t beaten the Wallabies in 12 Tests in Australia since 1969.
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“It is an important game,” Wales assistant coach Rob Howley said.
“There is huge disappointment and frustration within the camp. We want to give the best version of ourselves.
“I thought we really did well to come back into the game at 18-16. We can talk about the experience and the learning, of course we can, but we need to start winning Test matches.”
– with AP