Jones starts mind games

EDDIE JONES, the Australian coach, isn’t usually one to lavish compliments on his opponents, so you can only suspect he was playing mind games yesterday when lauding the Irish team in the build-up to Saturday’s World Cup clash at the Telstra Stadium.

In announcing a side very much on expected lines, Jones took the opportunity to point out how dangerous are Irish backs like Brian O’Driscoll and Denis Hickie and how they have one of the finest front-rows in the game in John Hayes, Keith Wood and either Reggie Corrigan or Marcus Horan.

Jones lacks the eloquence of an Eddie O’Sullivan or even a Clive Woodward and you suspect he wishes that press conferences weren’t an integral part of the World Cup. He allowed flanker Phil Waugh to attend yesterday’s get-together but had clearly warned him against rising to any question that might be asked about Irish flanker Keith Gleeson, who, of course, grew up in Australia and so well-known to the Aussie players.