Eddie Jones admits he is still searching for that 'winning formula'

Australian coach Eddie Jones admitted that his flailing team was “massive underdogs” against a “red hot” New Zealand in the Bledisloe Cup opener in Melbourne next Saturday.

However, he made it clear that his main goal is to find a ‘winning combination’ for the World Cup in France in September and October.

Jones made some radical changes this past week.

He dropped fullback Tom Wright from his squad, following the losses to South Africa and Argentina – with Andrew Kellaway and Jordan Petaia in the mix to wear the No.15 jersey.

Utility back Reece Hodge and back row forward Pete Samu were also selection casualties.

“We need to improve the team,” Jones told an online media briefing from the team’s base in Brisbane, adding: “We are looking to improve the team.

“We haven’t been good enough in the first two games.

“I’m still searching for what our best team is, that’s quite obvious,” Jones said.

“I’ve only had the players for a short time and I need to find out what our best combinations are so Kellaway and Petaia are definitely options at No.15 and both have trained there this week.”

He made it clear that his main focus is ‘getting the team ready for the World Cup’ in France in September and October.

“These games, as important as they are and certainly against New Zealand and the Bledisloe Cup we treat them with the utmost importance.

“[However,] I’ve got to find out who the best 33 is for Australia and this is part of the process.”

He noted that the team lacked alignment in defence and attack around the breakdown against Argentina.

“That’s part of the issues we’ve got at the moment,” he said.

“It’s an understanding issue – understanding what we need, what decisions need to be made by the players.”

(WATCH as Australia coach Eddie Jones explains how he is ‘sifting’ through the available talent to find the best Wallaby team….)

* Meanwhile, Wallaby co-captain Michael Hooper appears a long shot to face New Zealand in the opening Bledisloe Cup clash, while coach Eddie Jones has defended the contribution of some other players.

The Australians are winless in their first two matches under returning coach Jones and face a mammoth task at the MCG next Saturday against the unbeaten All Blacks.

With the second Test in Dunedin early next month, the Wallabies are looking to lift the prized Trans-Tasman trophy for the first time since 2002, when Jones was in his first stint as coach.

Veteran flank Hooper is still battling a calf injury that ruled him out of last weekend’s loss to Argentina, with a decision to be made on him over the weekend.

“He wasn’t able to train today [Saturday] and we’ll need to make a medical assessment of him over the weekend and see whether he can participate in the game or not,” Jones told reporters.

“We’ve still got a week to go and calf injuries we tend to be more careful with their rehab than other injuries so medical staff are being pretty careful with him.”

Jones revealed that star prop Taniela Tupou had returned from the Australia A clash in Tonga unwell and could only manage his first run with the Wallabies on Saturday.

“If he can get through some good training early in the week then he may be available for selection,” Jones said.

With Quade Cooper and Nic White in their 30s Jones was questioned about the lack of pace in his halves and also from inside centre Samu Kerevi.

He defended Cooper and Kerevi, saying they were tracking well for the World Cup, which gets underway in early September.

“We’ve got a number of players coming back from long-term injuries and then we know those players, as much as we like them to be at their best now, they’re not going to be their best until the World Cup,” the coach said.

“We’ don’t know where Quade’s going to end up – he’s still four games into returning from an Achilles tendon and Samu Kerevi is three or four games back from an ACL and they’re serious injuries.

“So with better exposure, the quality training and rugby training over the next period of time, they’re going to get a lot sharper.”

Jones made no secret of the fact that the Wallabies are “massive underdogs” at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

“In this situation this week we’re massive underdogs,” Jones said.

“However, that creates an opportunity for us.

“We know that if we can put pressure on a team that is red hot favourites, sometimes that pressure can turn into increased pressure on them and stress in the team, and that’s our aim.

“If you look at Australia at the moment, probably no one outside our immediate squad thinks we’ve got a chance of winning, which sometimes can drive a bit more closeness within the team, a bit more purpose about what we’re doing,” he added.

Jones was brought in to replace the axed Dave Rennie this year after the team lost nine of 13 internationals last season.

But it has been a rocky start to his second stint in the job, crashing 31-34 to Argentina on the back of a 12-43 loss to the world champions South Africa.

He admitted they had fallen short of expectations, but suggested it could prove beneficial for the September-October World Cup, as the “teething problems” had been identified now.

“I’ve got no doubt we’re not as clear about how we want to play as we want to be,” he said.

“The only problem I see with that is we’re not performing as we’d like to perform.

“But in a build-up to a World Cup, these sorts of teething problems are sometimes the best problems to have.

“And sometimes you find out more about your team in these situations than you do when you think things are going along swimmingly. And they’re not getting along swimmingly.”

* Additional sources: AFP & AAP

• Watch the full Eddie Jones interview below …