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Eddie drops in to help Boks
By Peter Jenkins
July 25, 2007
FORMER Australia coach Eddie Jones is in South Africa to assist one of the Wallabies' most threatening Rugby World Cup rivals.
Jones has flown to Cape Town to spend a week with the Springboks at the invitation of one-time Test coaching rival Jake White.
Sacked from the Wallabies job at the end of 2005 before coaching Queensland this season, Jones has stopped off in the Republic on his way to a new appointment at English club Saracens.
"I have always found Eddie's analysis of us to be the most difficult to counter and I have huge respect for his technical knowledge," White told South African journalists.
"As Boks coach, Eddie's Wallabies were the toughest of all our opposition and that was down to his strategic approach and fantastic knowledge of the game.
"It is a professional game and if someone of Eddie's ability is available as a short-term consultant then I am going to make use of him."
But Jones's connection with the Springboks is likely to cause angst in Australian circles, with the Wallabies facing a potential meet ing with South Africa in the Rugby World Cup quarter finals.
The top finisher in Australia's pool - most likely the Wallabies or Wales - will play the second-placed side in South Africa's pool - most likely the Springboks or England. The reverse will also apply.