Boks-Wallabies better than the Ashes, mate, Jones predicts

“It will be better than the Ashes, mate,” Eddie Jones’ sharp prediction bit through an icy cold Sandton morning on Thursday.

His team plays the Springboks in their Rugby Championship opener at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday and already Jones is warming to the occasion.

As if his return to the Wallabies coaching job needed to be talked up any further, the head coach responded very much on the front foot when asked whether viewers on the east coast of Australia should stay up for the 1am kickoff.

“Let me tell you what we’re gonna do, mate. We gonna roll our sleeves up, and we are going to dig in. If they want to watch that, they must stay up,” said Jones.

Loftus, of course, has been a graveyard for the Wallabies, and Jones. Australia lost all seven matches there, though Jones came close on debut during his first stint in 2001.

“We’ve really tried to tackle the ghosts,” said Jones. “There’s a lot of ghosts of Wallabies teams out there. We’ve tried to take on the concept of playing at altitude and playing in front of a fierce crowd. Pretoria is probably the loudest crowd you experience around the world. We are looking forward to that and see what we can do in it. What a fantastic opportunity,” Jones said with his trademark grin.

For the assignment of altering this particular arc of history, Jones has included one debutant, Tom Hooper, in the starting team, while Carter Gordon, Richie Arnold and Zane Nonggorr could make their debuts off the bench.

Hooper will partner co-captain and veteran Michael Hooper on the flank. The older Hooper happens to have a son called Tom, and his teammate now runs the risk of being called “Junior”.

When Arnold makes it onto the field it will likely be for fellow behemoth second rower Will Skelton. Their sheer physical presence should help amplify the increased grunt Jones is seeking from his team.

In the back division Jones has opted for Reece Hodge at inside centre with the more explosive Samu Kerevi named among the substitutes.

“He only started full training last week,” Jones said about Kerevi. “There is a bit more he needs to do to be ready [to start]. He will certainly make a massive contribution for us off the bench.

“Hodgo, particularly for a game in Pretoria, will do the job well for us at 12.”

Indeed, Hodge's cannon boot will be a valuable foil for the slick passing and softer touches offered by flyhalf Quade Cooper.

Another important member of the Wallabies' toolkit is scrumhalf Nic White and his trusty “contestables”.

There is, however, concern over co-captain James Slipper’s availability after the loose head prop did himself a mischief in training this week.

Blake Schoupp has been flown out as cover after Slipper suffered a knee injury. 

Jones said they will give him as long as possible to recover which was not a luxury the Bok camp had when they pulled the plug on their loose head Ox Nché's participation earlier in the week.

Though Jones will be desperate for the Wallabies to get a maiden win at Loftus to kick-start his new tenure, he cannot lose sight of the bigger picture later this year in which the Rugby World Cup looms large.

“Test rugby is always about winning, mate,” said Jones when asked if he had to perform a balancing act between those objectives for this game. “The best process Test rugby coach, doesn’t coach. The best winning coaches keeps coaching. The same with players. You don't win, you don't play. You gonna have great process and dot your Is and cross your Ts, do all the ice baths and all the saunas, watch all the videos, but unless you're winning ... that's what we've come here for.”

Wallabies team to play the Springboks:

Tom Wright; Suliasi Vunivalu, Len Ikitau, Reece Hodge, Marika Koroibete; Quade Cooper, Nic White; Rob Valetini, Michael Hooper (co-capt), Tom Hooper; Will Skelton, Nick Frost; Allan Alaalatoa, David Porecki, James Slipper (co-Capt).

Replacements: Jordan Uelese, Matt Gibbon, Zane Nongrorr, Richie Arnold, Pete Samu; Tate McDermott, Samu Kerevi, Carter Gordon.