By Benoit Van Overstraeten
PARIS (Reuters) – A jubilant Australia coach Eddie Jones vowed to celebrate his young side’s first win in six tests on Saturday with a glass of red wine and promised their World Cup campaign would only get better.
Jones said preparing for his team’s second Pool C game against Fiji next Sunday in St Etienne would have to wait until they had celebrated the 35-15 win over Georgia at Stade de France.
“We’ll worry about Fiji next week. All we want to do is enjoy the win,” he told reporters.
“We’ll go tomorrow to Bordeaux and have a nice glass of red wine.”
Jones, who dumped some experienced campaigners and rolled the dice on youth in his World Cup squad, said he felt no frustration at his team’s sometimes stop-start performance.
“The World Cup is about taking each step. We got a young team, it’s a great learning experience for them. Each time they will get a little better,” Jones added.
“We’ll see the improvements as the tournament goes on. We’ll always be confident about where we’re going.”
Jones’ second tenure as Australia’s head coach started in January but five losses in five tests this year have seen the twice world champions slide down the rankings to ninth in the world.
The former Japan and England coach was full of praise for man of the match Ben Donaldson, who more regularly plays at flyhalf but scored two tries from fullback after his surprise selection primarily for his place-kicking.
“I think he’s a really good rugby player,” Jones said.
“I think he makes good decisions and he’s got a pretty good foot, you know, with 10 or 15 points a game.”
Jones also praised captain Will Skelton’s positive influence on the discipline of the team with Australia penalised only seven times on Saturday compared to a double-digit average in recent seasons.
“It’s a testament to his leadership, a real credit to Will in the way he’s leading the team,” he said.
“The way he gets the boys together off the field and there is a real feeling this team could do something.”
(Reporting by Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by Nick Mulvenney and Hugh Lawson)
