Eddie Jones has turned to Australian rugby legend Ricky Stuart to help England prepare for a likely World Cup quarter-final against the country of his birth, writes Alex Spink in Miyazaki.
Stuart, coach of NRL club Canberra Crusaders, played three non-Test matches for the Wallabies before switching codes Down Under and becoming a league great.
“It is something that’s been in the planning for a couple of months,” said Stuart. “I know Eddie, he is a world class operator.”
An RFU spokesperson confirmed the 52-year-old would join the Red Rose camp next week to “exchange ideas” ahead of England’s biggest match since the Aussies knocked them out of the last World Cup.
This is not the first time Jones has played his NRL trump card ahead of a clash with the Wallabies, whom he has beaten in all six meetings since becoming England boss.
Three years ago he invited Andrew Johns to work with his team in Australia before they completed a 3-0 series whitewash in Sydney.
“The reason we picked the quarter-final was that we wanted to experiences their operations and processes," Stuart told The Australian .
“I’m very fortunate and privileged that Eddie has given us the opportunity to gain insight into these intense moments.”
England have more than a week to prepare for the last-eight clash in Oita after their final pool match fell victim to approaching super typhoon Hagibis.
Rather than risk injury battling with arch-rivals France tomorrow, England were instead able to evacuate Tokyo yesterday for a weekend out of harm’s way in the tropical south east of Japan.
Jones admitted the ‘typhoon gods’, who are causing Italy and Scotland so much heartache, had smiled on his England team.
By the time they play again England will have had a fortnight between games, whereas the Wallabies play Georgia in Shizuoka this morning.
