Former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones has blamed his successor John Connolly for Australia's shock World Cup exit last weekend at the hands of old enemy England.
Connolly replaced Jones two years ago and there has been no love lost between the pair, particularly since Jones signed up as an adviser to South Africa for this year's tournament in France.
Jones told Sydney's Daily Telegraph that Connolly's decision to appoint Sterling Mortlock as captain over George Gregan was the key factor in Australia's 10-12 quarter-final loss to England on Saturday.
"It was a mistake not having George as captain," Jones told the newspaper. "The Wallabies lacked leadership in the game against England. The Australians never got together to work out what to do, which George was always good at."
"He's been criticized as half-back in recent times -- some of the stuff was right, some of it wrong -- but you could never criticize his captaincy," Jones said.
Jones said Gregan had not wanted to undermine Mortlock's captaincy on the field.
"It showed out that he didn't want to overrule the bloke in charge," he said.
Jones insisted his comments were not a criticism of Mortlock, saying it was difficult for anyone to captain from the No. 13 position.
"I don't think he was very experienced in that situation at the weekend," he said.
"Quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals at a World Cup are life and death, it's not your normal Test footy. The intensity exacerbates strengths and weaknesses. I don't think it was Stirling's fault, it was a matter of circumstance," Jones said.
Jones, who was sacked after the Wallabies lost eight out of nine games, said the England game also showed that claims the Australian scrum had made massive improvements since he departed were not accurate.
"It has improved but not that much and there were repercussions elsewhere," he said.
The defeat was Connolly's last match as Wallabies coach, with the Australian Rugby Union launching an international search for a replacement.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and