Eddie Jones taking charge of the Wallabies at this year’s Rugby World Cup in France is likely to elevate them from the realm of dark horse to capable contender.
But Jones, who takes over from Dave Rennie on the 29th of this month, will have to start the job with his sleeves already rolled up.
He has gone on record as saying the job will require the “utmost relentlessness and absolute pursuit of excellence”.
Jones of course is particularly adept at one-liners and verbal skirmishes. He knows how to roll with the punches, and his name is never far from the headlines. Rugby Australia will view his acquisition as a marketing coup.
It is that reason, perhaps more than on-field consideration, that got Jones the job. Professional rugby is about pacifying stakeholders.
The wily Aussie, though, will inherit a side showing signs of turning the corner. Narrow defeats to France and Ireland, the top two ranked teams in the world in November, were indicators that better days lay ahead for the World Champions of 1991 and 1999. They ran Europe’s form teams close despite a crippling injury list.
The Wallabies were playing with more assuredness in attack, they generally showed greater grit, and while their game management still requires more moments of clarity, it has undoubtedly improved.
If Rennie instilled greater balance and confidence to the Wallabies' attack, Jones is likely to add the hard-nosed pragmatism that characterised much of his seven-year tenure with England. Any team hoping to go the distance at a World Cup will need menace and mongrel.
If he opts to build on what Rennie has already set in place, Jones could take the Wallabies to a level that will make them hard to beat at the World Cup.
They should progress relatively untroubled to the business end of the competition as New Zealand, SA, France and Ireland trip over each other on the other side of the draw.
Australia, should they win their pool that includes Wales, will reach the semifinals if they overcome Argentina or England in the quarterfinals. They will hope it’s the former who are more familiar foes from the Rugby Championship.
It’s only in the semifinals that they are likely to meet a team ranked in the top four.
After being confirmed in his new position Jones spoke of the need to focus on the two or three key areas that matter.
Apart from his stint with Japan, where they punched above their weight and even beat the Springboks in 2015, every team Jones has helped coach at the World Cup has reached the final.
His contract is supposed to take him through to the 2027 World Cup in Australia, which of course is a stage on which they want to glow at their most glorious.
In his first stint as Wallabies coach Jones was also charged with winning the tournament on home soil. He had inherited a Wallabies team that was on top of the world. Rod Macqueen’s predecessor had taken the Wallabies to great heights, winning the 1999 World Cup, the Tri-Nations and a series against the British and Irish Lions.
Jones failed to win the World Cup 2003, losing narrowly to England in the final, and he left the post in 2005.
Now he’s back and has to hit the deck running against the world champions Springboks at Loftus Versfeld in July.
He must have sighed when he saw the magnitude of his first assignment.
It is a ground where he arguably suffered his nadir as a coach. His Queensland Reds team travelled there in 2007, firmly in the crosshairs of the Bulls, who had a remote chance of reaching the knockout stages. They had to win by a 72-point victory margin to secure a home semifinal. The Bulls won 92-3, which meant the Crusaders had to make the trip to Loftus.
“We just dropped our bundle, mate,” Jones ruefully remarked after that match.
He was soon without a job, but that changed when Jake White roped him into a position Rassie Erasmus had occupied for the Springboks.
Apart from his stint with Japan, where they punched above their weight and even beat the Springboks in 2015, every team Jones has helped coach at the World Cup has reached the final.
A fourth appearance beckons if he can quickly earn the Wallabies’ trust.
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