“I’ve tried to[speak to Cooper],mate,but can’t get a hold of him,” Jones told reporters on Thursday.
Asked why Cooper wouldn’t take the call,given his desire to play at a World Cup,Jones replied:“Because I think he’s very upset,mate. I don’t know why you’re going back to that. We’ve tried to ring him. That’s all we can do.
“I’m disappointed if a player is upset but all I can do is ring them. If they don’t take your phone call,you can’t talk to them.”
Eddie Jones said Quade Cooper had not returned his calls.Credit:Getty
Hooper was one of the affected players who,by Wednesday evening,did not know whether he had made the squad. Sources with knowledge of the situation have told this masthead that Hooper,a veteran of 125 Tests in a gold jersey,rang Wallabies management to check if he was in the touring party.
Asked if it was true that Hooper had had to ring to find out about his place in the squad,Jones said,“not to my knowledge”.
The 31-year-old has been recovering from a calf injury.
“Michael wasn’t selected for the tour,” Jones said. “There is still a question mark over his fitness. That is taken into consideration.”
Michael Hooper was not included in Australia’s 33-man squad for the World Cup.Credit:Getty
“You think the selection process is bad because a player has complained? I apologise for that. We’ll go out there and do our best boys.
“We’ve moved on. That’s all been done and dusted. If the players were unhappy about the selection process,so be it. We’re moving onto a new young squad that is going to take Australian rugby forward. What we’ve had over the last eight years hasn’t been good enough.”
Meanwhile,Jones did not appear concerned about the departure of Davis three weeks out from the World Cup.
“Family reasons,mate,” said Jones when asked why Davis had left. “I think there’s an opportunity for us and I think we’ll improve our coaching staff. We had a discussion a couple of nights ago. There is a potential candidate ready to step up now. I think we’ll improve the coaching staff.”
Jones said Scott Wisemantel,the former England and Australian attack coach,was not available.
Davisjoined the Wallabies coaching staff in May after being recruited by Jones from London Irish,where he had worked as a defence coach.
Davis is a former rugby league half who spent his entire career in the UK Super League,playing 215 games for clubs including Castleford,Huddersfield and Wakefield between 1992 and 2006. He moved across to rugby coaching and spent a decade at Bath as a defence and skills coach,and has since coached at Ospreys and London Irish.
Brad Davis when he was coaching for London Irish.Credit:Getty
Davis has been reportedly linked to a role as defence coach of the Reds.
Jones was unhappy with reporters for what he believed was a negative line of questioning. He reiterated that,even after four straight losses to begin his second spell as Australian coach,he believed the Wallabies could go well at the World Cup.
“I can’t believe the level of negativity here,boys,” Jones said. “None of you guys think we can do any good. That’s alright. The challenge is for us as a group to show we can. I enjoy it when people say you can’t do it.
“Thanks for the worst press conference I’ve ever had in world rugby. That is the worst I’ve ever seen. Give yourself uppercuts.”
Watch all the action fromRugby World Cup 2023 on the Home of Rugby,Stan Sport. Every match ad-free,live and on demand in 4K UHD from September 9.
Sports news,results and expert commentary.Sign up for our Sport newsletter.