Despite repeated denials,this masthead and other news outlets have reported that plans were underway for a second interview with the JRFU in November. Jones,who last week denied he wasdoing a second interview,toldHerald columnist Peter FitzSimons in an interview published on Friday that he was due to be holidaying in Japan with his wife in November.

Jones oversaw the Wallabies’ worst World Cup campaign in history in France,where the men in gold failed to make it out of the pool stages.

A Wallabies source,speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly,said the working relationship between Jones and the RA leadership had grown increasingly strained and the prospect of the Wallabies coach carrying on business as usual in 2024 was unlikely.

In the interview with FitzSimons,Jones said his relationship with McLennan and Waugh was “good enough”.

“But there’s two parts to being committed,” he continued. “There’s me being committed and there’s them being committed to make the changes. And I think they are,but Australia’s a difficult environment right now,how antiquated we are in our thinking and the way we do things,and we’re still so territorial.”

Rugby Australia now faces a decision about how it wants to progress with Jones,given a negotiated exit would almost certainly involve compensation as he is contracted through to 2027.

Sources with knowledge of Jones’s contract have told this masthead that if RA parted ways with the coach in the first quarter of next year,it would carry a smaller financial cost. There are exit clauses in Jones’s deal that pertain to RA’s pursuit of private equity and a centralised governance model,according to sources with direct knowledge of the contract,speaking anonymously due to the confidential nature of the contract.

Almost all the Wallabies staff who worked with Jones at the Rugby World Cup have not had their contracts renewed for next year. Most were on one-year deals.

Wallabies general manager Chris Webb has also departed after his four-year contract expired. Webb served in the role with Dave Rennie before re-uniting with Jones,who he’d worked with at the Wallabies in 2003. Waugh was keen to retain Webb but the experienced administrator elected to finish up.

Meanwhile,Jones and Hooper are set for an awkward reunion next week in Cardiff,when the pair will both be involved in a Barbarians game against Wales.

Hooper is one of several Australian players involved in the November 4 game,which is a testimonial for Wales veteran Alun Wyn-Jones. Taniela Tupou,Rob Leota,Angus Bell and Rob Valetini are also playing.

Hooper was controversially left out of the Wallabies’ World Cup squad by Jones,along with experienced stars Bernard Foley and Quade Cooper. It proved costly for the inexperienced Wallabies but Jones doubled down in the interview with FitzSimons.

“The situation reminded me of when Wayne Bennett let Wally Lewis go. No one could quite understand why,but Wally Lewis wasn’t a great role model for the rest of the team. And for those guys,I don’t think they were the right role models for the team going forward,” Jones said.

“Don’t get me wrong. They’re not bad guys. But you need guys – particularly when you’ve got a team like Australia has at the moment – you need guys who are obsessed with winning,obsessed with being good,and those three are past those stages.”

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