Aussie coach Eddie Jones says Michael Hooper 'not the right role model'

Maligned Australia coach Eddie Jones has defended his shock decision to axe Michael Hooper from the Wallabies disastrous World Cup campaign, saying the veteran flanker was "not the right role model".

Hooper, Australia's most-capped skipper, having led the side in 69 of his 125 Tests, was a glaring omission from the squad in France along with Quade Cooper and Bernard Foley.

Jones instead packed his squad with a band of unproven rookies and Australia were bundled out in pool play for the first time ever.

Jones insisted it was the right decision, saying Hooper, Cooper and Foley were no longer "obsessed with winning".

"For those guys, I don't think they were the right role models for the team going forward," Jones said in an interview with former Wallaby Peter FitzSimons, published late Friday in the Sydney Morning Herald.

"Don't get me wrong. They're not bad guys.

"But you need guys -- particularly when you've got a team like Australia has at the moment -- you need guys who are obsessed with winning, obsessed with being good, and those three are past those stages."

Hooper is widely considered one of the greatest players in Wallabies history, and is set for a frosty reunion with Jones next week.

He is part of the Barbarians squad co-coached by Jones and incoming All Blacks coach Scott Robertson that will play Wales in Cardiff on November 4.

'The $64 question'

Former England coach Jones has ruled out a rumoured switch to Japan and pledged to stick with the Wallabies after their disastrous World Cup, but speculation continues to swirl about his future.

The Sydney Morning Herald, citing multiple sources, reported this week that the 63-year-old and Rugby Australia had taken the first steps towards formally negotiating his departure.

Acco