Is a reunion with Eddie Jones really the answer to the Wallabies’ problems?

When Rugby Australia makes plans for the Wallabies’ coaching set-up, administrators are unlikely to give much thought to the celebrity couple Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck. But perhaps they should, especially if they are considering Eddie Jones for a role.

The couple known as Bennifer were recently married in Las Vegas, 18 years after they broke their engagement in 2004. RA sacked Jones as Wallabies coach at the end of 2005, but now there is talk of the current England coach and his former employers reviving their relationship and the national union has reportedly offered Jones an unspecified coaching position after the 2023 World Cup in France.

The speculation prompts the question: should RA and Jones try to rekindle an old relationship, or would they be wiser to let sleeping dogs lie? A brilliant and driven coach since his early days at the Brumbies, Jones certainly has the talent and experience to coach the Wallabies again, but does he have too much emotional baggage?

He guided the Wallabies to the final of the 2003 World Cup in Sydney, losing to England 20-17 in extra-time, but RA axed him two years later after Australia lost eight of the last nine Tests in which he was in charge. It was a painful and bitter experience for Jones, who teared up at a media conference, indicating just how much the job meant to him.

Jones has since rehabilitated his coaching reputation. As a coaching consultant he helped the Springboks win the 2007 World Cup in France; he guided Japan to the biggest upset in the history of the tournament with a win against South Africa in 2015; and he took a previously under-performing England to the final of the 2019 tournament.

And he has also guided England to two three-Test series victories over the