Wallabies coach Eddie Jones has fired a cheeky shot at New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, believing an All Blacks loss on Saturday will 'sink the country.'
Jones was in fine form as he prepared for the opening Bledisloe Cup match at the MCG.
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In a press conference filled with Kiwi and Australian journos, Jones brought back memories of 2019 when he called a couple of NZ journos 'fans with keyboards' in a humourous nature.
It was Jones with full knowledge they have been written off by the vast majority on both sides of the Tasman.
This allowed him to go at the so-called 'superior' Kiwi mentality, believing a loss at the MCG will have lasting effects across the country.
"There's nothing better than Australian rugby taking on New Zealand rugby because the New Zealanders all think they're better than us, they always have, and so we get an opportunity," said Jones to reporters.
“…There’s nothing better than winning against New Zealand because you feel the country sinking. It's not just rugby that sinks, the country sinks.
“The whole economy goes down so the Prime Minister's there with his fingers crossed hoping the All Blacks win because he knows the economy will drop off (if) they lose
"We've got a bit of a job here to do…maybe put the New Zealand Prime Minister on call that the economy's going to suffer and at the same time raise our stakes here."
In his first Bledisloe clash in close to two decades, Jones felt the importance of the occasion.
There will be over 80,000 in the MCG on Saturday, which could be the largest Wallabies crowd in Australia in over a decade.
With the odds stacked against the side in his mind, Jones was ready to cause a 'shock.'
“I always wanted to come up with the right balance of the team. I’m still getting to know the players and the players are still getting to know me. We needed to find out where the best balance of the team is but just watching the team train yesterday I liked the look of it,” he said.
“We’ve got big centres like (Samu) Kerevi and (Jordan) Petaia hitting the line. Marika (Koroibete) and Mark (Nawaqanitawase) with pace on the wings, Kellaway who is a good communicator fullback and then Carter being able to take the line on with a big strong forward pack.
“There's not too many people outside our group that thinks we can win the game but there’s 85,000 people that might be in for a shock.”
