Stephen Larkham, Michael Maguire sidestep Eddie Jones for Rugby World Cup campaign
Stephen Larkham has ruled out reuniting with Eddie Jones and joining the Wallabies coaching staff for this year's Rugby World Cup in France.
The Brumbies coach has a long association with Jones and is a previous Wallabies assistant under Michael Cheika.
Jones is still working out his coaching team for 2023 and turning to Larkham as an attack specialist to replace Scott Wisemantel would seem an obvious fit - if he was willing to again combine national duties with his Super Rugby commitments.
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Wallabies coach Eddie Jones talks with Stephen Larkham in 2005. Getty
"No, no, it's something I haven't spoken to Eddie about," Larkham told Wide World of Sports at the Australian season launch in Sydney.
"But my sole focus is definitely helping Eddie. Ultimately, we've got some goals that we've set out to achieve this year as an organisation so we're trying to achieve those first. But ultimately, when you look at the bigger picture, we're developing players for the World Cup so we've all got a helping hand. All the coaches have a helping hand here in making sure that we've got a really good run in to the World Cup."
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Jones headhunted NRL coach Michael Maguire to serve as his defensive specialist.
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Michael Maguire. Jan Kruger/Getty Images for RLWC
But Maguire said he decided to honour his commitment to Ricky Stuart as a Raiders consultant.
"I'd love to work with Eddie," Maguire told the Herald.
"I've known Eddie for a long time; he's a fanatical Souths fan... at this present moment, I'm really enjoying my time at Canberra...
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"Whether Eddie and I cross paths in the future, only time will tell. At the end of the day, I'm very hungry to win a competition and that's what I've set out to do."
Larkham blossomed into one of the world's greatest playmakers under Jones with both the Brumbies and Wallabies during a wildly successful era in the 1990s and 2000s.
Now an experienced coach in his own right, Larkham expects his former mentor to make an immediate impact in his second stint with the Wallabies.
Allan Alaalatoa of the ACT Brumbies poses with coach Stephen Larkham. Getty
"Yeah, I don't think there's anyone in world rugby who carries more respect than Eddie.
"Bringing a lot of excitement to the game, a lot of interest in the game at the moment and I'm very fortunate that we've had a couple of chats already since he's been back and he's just a wealth of knowledge around every aspect of the game.
"I think the strategic points, Eddie's at the forefront of the game, but then in terms of player management and staff management, he's just so experienced and a really good, valuable resource for all the coaches to have."
Wallabies coach Eddie Jones gestures during the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season launch. Getty
Larkham added that Jones had evolved hugely as a coach since his first Wallabies term - "incredibly smart, intelligent, strategic" - but some things would never change.
"He's still going to bring that hard edge and intensity to the program and we're already seeing that a lot of the players are on edge when they start talking about the World Cup and Eddie - the players are certainly on edge.
"There's a fine line at the moment, the players are really focused on the start of the Super Rugby competition. But you know in the back of their minds, Eddie's sort of eating away there."
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