Eddie Jones has no regrets after Fiji stun young Wallabies at World Cup

Australia Assistant Coach Neal Hatley during the Rugby World Cup France 2023 match between Australia and Fiji at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on 17 September 2023 in Saint-Etienne, France. (Photo: Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

By Nick Mulvenney and Mark Gleeson

18 Sep 2023

Fiji threw the outcome of Rugby World Cup Pool C wide open with a 22-15 win over Australia on Sunday, in the first upset result of the tournament in France.

Australia coach Eddie Jones said he had no regrets after his inexperienced Wallabies side were beaten by Fiji for the first time in nearly seven decades at the World Cup on Sunday.

The loss, a sixth in seventh tests this year, leaves his team needing to beat Wales in their third Pool C match next weekend to guarantee they do not exit the World Cup in the opening stage for the first time.

Veteran players like Michael Hooper and Quade Cooper were left out of the World Cup squad as Australia rolled the dice on youth and Jones said setbacks had to be expected.

Eddie Jones Fiji Australia's Fraser McReight runs the ball during their World Cup clash with Fiji at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Etienne, France, on 17 September 2023. (Photo: Chris Hyde / Getty Images)

“Look, we’ve gone with a young team,” Jones told reporters. “I’ve got no regrets at all. We’re building a team for the future, we’re gonna go through some pain.

“We’re doing our absolute best and I apologise. It’s my fault. I take full responsibility for it.”

Read more in Daily Maverick: Rugby World Cup 2023

Jones said neither captain Will Skelton, who was a late withdrawal with a calf strain, and bullocking prop Taniela Tupou, who missed the match with a hamstring issue, would be available to face Wales.

“We can’t blame the loss on Skelton not being there,” he said. “We’ve got to be good enough to be able to cope with that.”

Jones was magnanimous in defeat and praised the Pacific islanders for their performance.

“We just couldn’t get one part of our game really going; if we were able to get our maul going, that could have changed the game,” he said.

Amongst the gloom, there’s some really promising things there, particularly from the younger players.

“We didn’t get any ascendancy in the scrum and we were beaten at the breakdown.”

Even the 18 penalties the Wallabies conceded did not perturb the sometimes irascible former Japan and England coach.

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“When you’re not on the front foot, it’s quite easy to give away penalties,” he said. “So. I’m not worried about our discipline, I’m worried about not getting on the front foot.”

Jones took off Carter Gordon to rejig his backline as Australia chased the game in the second half, but backed the flyhalf to put a disappointing game behind him.

“Carter is a young 10 and he’s going to have those days,” Jones said. “But he’ll bounce back. He’s a good young player.”

The Wallabies coach was even able to draw some positives out of the 22-15 loss, the first real upset of the World Cup.

“I was really pleased with the character the young team showed,” he said.

Australia coach Eddie Jones watches over the warm-up before the World Cup match against Fiji at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on 17 September 2023. (Photo: Catherine Ivill / Getty Images)

“When Fiji is on the front foot in a fairly hostile environment, it would have been easy for our team to go away, but they didn’t. So, amongst the gloom, there’s some really promising things there, particularly from the younger players.”

Fiji new mindset

Fiji have dispelled the notion they are a carefree team with talented individuals but little collective cohesion, coach Simon Raiwalui said on Sunday after they upset Australia to boost their chances of a place in the World Cup quarterfinals.

“We have traditional areas of the game where the tier-1 nations attack us and I think those are the areas where we’ve really improved on,” he said.

“I think that teams talking of us as a bunch of very talented individuals is no longer; we’ve now got a very good team of talented, talented players.

Australia assistant coach Neal Hatley during the Wallabies' match against Fiji at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on 17 September 2023. (Photo: Chris Hyde / Getty Images)

“I couldn’t be prouder. It’s not just today. It’s a culmination of the work we’ve done since the beginning of the campaign. We pushed the boys to the limits and they’ve never once complained. When you work hard, you get the results, so I’m super proud of them,” he told the post-match press conference.

The victory – their first over Australia for 69 years – gives them a chance of finishing in the top two in the pool after they lost narrowly to Wales last week.

“Today was all about staying alive in the tournament. We’ve had that mindset from the beginning. If we do the things right, prepare well, then we’ll be in there every match,” Raiwalui said.

“It was two teams with a similar style although we controlled the ball better today. I’m happy for this group, I’m happy for our captain who led from the front from the start. We pushed them hard from the beginning of 12 weeks of preparation. We wanted to... change our identity, what we stood for.”

Fiji were prepared for Australia to come at them in the set piece, said Raiwalui. “We have a real mindset to go in there and win those battles.

“It’s a new generation that is taking Fiji rugby forward.” Reuters/DM

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