Wallabies coach Eddie Jones says NRL boss Peter V’landys should spend less time at the TAB and more of it watching union after the league boss brushed talk of players defecting.
Jones has made no secret of his desire to poach prodigious talent from the NRL, this week signalling he had three players in his crosshairs.
That drew the ire of V’landys, who told AAP that players who defect from league to union could “take their mobile phone with them on the field because they’ve got 20 minutes to Tweet, Instagram, or TikTok”, in a jab about the contrasting speed of the two codes.
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“We wish Eddie the best of luck, and I hope he’s got his mobile phone with him so he can fill that 30 minutes as well,” he added.
V’landys said he wasn’t concerned that his players would leave “the greatest game of all for another game” and claimed: “There is more to it than money. There is also enjoyment and the quality.”
Jones took the jibe in his stride when posed with V’landys’ taunt, throwing a grenade directly back.
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“I think he’s probably been sitting in the TAB too much, mate,” Jones joked.
“I encourage him to get out of the TAB and go and watch some Super Rugby.
“I’ll invite him to the game, mate.”
Jones conceded that snatching NRL players for the Wallabies and this year’s Rugby World Cup is highly unlikely.
However, he spoke about the long-term view and the forthcoming Lions Tour in 2025 as well as the Rugby World Cup in 2027.
Both competitions take place in Australia, marking the first time since 2001 that the Lions have toured Down Under and the first Rugby World Cup here since 2003.
Jones said the reality is that rugby union needs to intercept players early before they cement themselves in league.
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“In the Australian rugby landscape, rugby league is a pretty intense competitor,” Jones explained.
“They compete for the fans, they compete for television money, they compete for the players.
“Firstly, in the short term, and we’re talking about the World Cup now, it’s highly unlikely that any players are going to come from rugby league because they’re all on contracts, they’re all started pre-season training with their clubs. It’s highly unlikely they’re going to jump.
“Going forward, there’s a big responsibility for rugby in Australia to make sure we retain the talent of kids that are playing rugby. In the various competitions – GPS, CHS, CAS – there are a lot of kids playing rugby. We’ve got to make sure we retain that talent.
“The memories and opportunities that rugby can create with the Rugby World Cup in 2023 have flown now, but 2025 Lions, 2027 Rugby World Cup, rugby league can’t offer that.
“So we’ve got some advantages there and therefore we might be able to get some of the players that have left to play rugby league and wearing different colours and get them in better colours now.
“Then the third step is the chairman is pretty keen on pinching a few from the other side, so we’ll see how we go.”
Jones will have just five Test matches to get his Wallabies up to speed ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
He is contracted to Rugby Australia to coach the Wallabies through to 2027.
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