Eddie Jones commits his future to the Wallabies and insists he's in it for the long haul

Eddie Jones has pledged to turn things around despite a horror start to his second tenure in charge of the Wallabies. The Australian rugby coach insisted he is committed to the side despite speculation that his future could be elsewhere.

Following a dismal display at the Rugby World Cup where the Wallabies failed to make the quarter-finals for the first time in the tournament's history, Jones squashed rumours he was jumping ship, amid speculation he was set to have another interview with Japan in November.

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Jones fronted the media on Tuesday morning to answer questions about a rumoured switch to coach Japan but instead, the 63-year-old stated that he fully intends to lead the Wallabies into the home World Cup in 2027. The Wallabies coach says he is "100 per cent" committed to the job and denied he was currently or had been in talks with Japanese rugby.

"I love the game and I love coaching those players, 100 per cent. If you look at the number of players we took to the World Cup, the number of players who are still to reach their peak - players like (Fraser) McReight, (Tate) McDermott, (Ben) Donaldson, (Tom) Hooper, (Max) Jorgensen - there are a number of players there who are at the start of their international career. Most of them showed during the World Cup that they have enough to really go forward and be very good players for Australia."

When quizzed about the Wallabies' disappointing performance, Jones said: "We were just not good enough. You just have to watch the quarterfinals at the weekend. We are not at that level and we cannot pretend to be at the level. Can we be there by 2027? Yes, we can."

Eddie Jones' future to be determined post World Cup

Jones has continued to defend his decision to take a relatively young side to France and believes he has the backing of Rugby Australia long term. "I believe so but we need to do a review and the results were disappointing and everybody is gutted by it," Jones said. "Especially myself, but I stand by the decisions we have made and I think we have left Australian rugby in a better position."

"Sometimes, when you have changed, everyone hates change because it is uncomfortable. Everyone likes the status quo," he said. "And we had the courage, whether it be the right courage, to make the choice that we would go with a younger squad. The young squad will stand Australia in good stead."

While Jones insists he wants to stay put, his position will be reviewed with Rugby Australia (RA) post-World Cup. RA chief Phil Waugh, who played under Jones in the 2003 World Cup final, said he will take his former coach's word that he had not spoken with the Brave Blossoms.

Wallabies legend says Jones 'needs to stay'

Wallabies great Mark Ella has thrown his support behind the embattled coach, saying he believes he is still the right man to turn around the side's fortunes. “He only had five or six months this time to change Australian rugby before the World Cup and it obviously didn’t work, but he’s got to start again because he’s now got four years to actually get these guys back into shape and restructure the game and how we’re going to play,” former Wallabies captain Ella said.

"He needs to stay here so he can build us up from where we are because where we are right now is basically nowhere. We’ve got to start again and I hope Eddie is the person who makes Australian rugby successful again.

"I’m sad to see what’s happening with him because he’s a good guy who hasn’t had a lot of time, so he made some big changes and picked a lot of younger guys. It’s clear that he was thinking ahead a few more years. We can be much better (if he stays), but it’s a decision that he’s got to make.”

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