Head Coach Got Slammed By Former Teammate…

Retired Test winger Drew Mitchell has accused veteran coach Eddie Jones of putting the Wallabies in danger of missing their first-ever Rugby World Cup quarterfinal, and he has demanded an explanation from Jones regarding some of his selection choices.

Mitchell was upset by the Wallabies’ shocking 22–15 loss to Fiji in Saint-Étienne. In order to survive and advance to the next round, the team must now win its crucial pool match against Wales in Lyon on Monday AEST.

Speaking on a podcast that also features former Wallabies teammates Adam Ashley-Cooper and Matt Giteau, Mitchell blasted Jones in a foul-mouthed rant.

Mitchell said to The Good, The Bad and the Rugby Australia podcast, “Let’s not take away from the fact that Fiji played really well, but let’s also not take away from the fact that we f*****g shouldn’t have lost to Fiji.”

Mitchell, who played 71 Tests for the Wallabies, questioned Jones’s move to pursue a youth policy and leave out longtime skipper Michael Hooper and veteran playmaker Quade Cooper.

Jones selected only one fly-half in his squad, 22-year-old Carter Gordon.

Mitchell, who played in three World Cups, said Jones needed to come clean to fans after the Wallabies’ first defeat to Fiji in 69 years.

“You’ve (Jones) made some glaring decisions around Quade [Cooper], around Michael Hooper, six captains in seven weeks, like, f*****g explain some of these decisions to us,” Mitchell said.

We’re all sitting here scratching our heads as fans, that’s why.And a lot of the time, we can sit there and defend Eddie or the Wallabies because we can see how some of these choices make sense, even though there isn’t any.

“Tell us as fans why have you not picked these guys? Because now we’re seeing the result of you not picking some of these guys.”

Mitchell, who last played for Australia in 2016, did not accept Jones taking responsibility for the loss to Fiji, saying it was an “empty line” in a media conference with no real consequences.

“Eddie sits there and goes, ‘Yeah, it’s my fault. I take full responsibility.’ What the f**k does that mean though? Like, he doesn’t get dropped this week,” said Mitchell, who made his Test debut in 2005 during Jones’s first stint as Wallabies coach.

Mitchell’s comments caught Fiji in the crossfire, with its coach Simon Raiwalui responding through social media, saying his remarks regarding his team were “condescending”.

Fiji is ranked the world’s number eight team, one ahead of the Wallabies, and it also beat England prior to the World Cup.

A former Wallabies assistant coach, Raiwalui questioned why Mitchell believed the Wallabies should not have lost to Fiji.

“It starts to get a little condescending … do our young men deserve that?” Raiwalui wrote on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Mitchell replied to Raiwalui that he did not mean for his comments to be interpreted that way.

“In no way did I mean for that to come across as condescending whatsoever. I love what you and the team are doing and thoroughly deserved to win,” Mitchell wrote.

“It was more about your point in the press conference in the resources both unions have at their disposal.”

Mitchell later apologised for his swearing and said he was tired and a “tad emotional”.

Meanwhile, the Wallabies will call in an injury replacement after uncapped teenager Max Jorgensen was ruled out of the World Cup.

Jorgensen fractured his leg at training.

Bidding to become the youngest Wallabies player to debut at a World Cup, 19-year-old Jorgensen suffered the injury during a drill on Wednesday and was immediately sent for scans that confirmed the fracture.

Jorgensen, a bolter in the Wallabies team, was not expected to play against Wales but might have made his Test debut the following week against minnows Portugal.

Tate McDermott, the vice captain and halfback for the Wallabies, will be able to play against Wales following his concussion against Georgia in the team’s tournament opener—a rare bit of good news for the team.