// Tongue in cheek throwaway line or a genuine shot across the NRL's bows? You never quite know with Wallabies coach Eddie Jones, who told New Zealand's The Breakdown (available to watch on Stan Sport) on Sunday that Rugby Australia had more league talent lined up to follow Joseph Suaalii's lead and switch codes. "Yeah, we've got about three or four that are ready to sign mate, big names," Jones said, with a mischievous grin on his face. Watch the 2023 Rugby Championship on the home of rugby, Stan Sport. All matches streaming ad free, live and on demand "I can't tell you now (which ones). But no, I think it adds to the competitive tension... we need to get rugby back competing as a winter sport. And by signing a guy like Suaalii, it helps that. If we sign two or three others, it'll help that and it'll also show kids. "A lot of the kids now go to a big private school and by the time they're 15, if they're good, if they're good readers of the game, they catch and pass - they've got a Rabbitohs contract or a Roosters contract in front of them. "And the inevitability of that is hard to stop because we're competing against 17 clubs that all have the recruitment budget of Rugby Australia. READ MORE: Aussies poised to win Ashes after devastating spell READ MORE: How axed Blues star let Origin call-up slip READ MORE: West Coast Eagles boss blames players for 'darkest day' "So we've got to get some of those players back and ideally we keep more of them at a young age, which we have to do, but then to get a few of them back after they've done a apprenticeship in rugby league is fantastic." Jones also expanded on his move to bring league legend Andrew Johns into the Wallabies camp in Sydney last week. Johns worked with Australia's playmakers at Coogee Oval, honing their skills ahead of the Rugby Championship opener against the Springboks in Pretoria on July 9 (AEST). Jones - who named his Rugby Championship squad on Sunday - also brought Rugby World Cup-winning Wallabies coach Bob Dwyer into camp last week to deliver similarly clear messaging. "It goes back to what Bob was saying, we want to play straight and that's always been the Australian way," Jones said. "We've lost our way a little bit there and Andrew Johns - I've never seen a guy who understands that part of the game better than him. Just the little tricks he does with his eyes and his feet. We've got a young guy, Carter Gordon, who's only played 15 Super Rugby games. So to have 35 minutes with the maestro, it's going to be invaluable for his career." https://twitter.com/StanSportRugby/status/1673141527306989571?s=20 For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here Tongue in cheek throwaway line or a genuine shot across the NRL's bows? You never quite know with Wallabies coach Eddie Jones, who told New Zealand's The Breakdown (available to watch on Stan Sport) on Sunday that Rugby Australia had more league talent lined up to follow Joseph Suaalii's lead and switch codes. "Yeah, we've got about three or four that are ready to sign mate, big names," Jones said, with a mischievous grin on his face. Watch the 2023 Rugby Championship on the home of rugby, Stan Sport. All matches streaming ad free, live and on demand "I can't tell you now (which ones). But no, I think it adds to the competitive tension... we need to get rugby back competing as a winter sport. And by signing a guy like Suaalii, it helps that. If we sign two or three others, it'll help that and it'll also show kids. "A lot of the kids now go to a big private school and by the time they're 15, if they're good, if they're good readers of the game, they catch and pass - they've got a Rabbitohs contract or a Roosters contract in front of them. "And the inevitability of that is hard to stop because we're competing against 17 clubs that all have the recruitment budget of Rugby Australia. READ MORE: Aussies poised to win Ashes after devastating spell READ MORE: How axed Blues star let Origin call-up slip READ MORE: West Coast Eagles boss blames players for 'darkest day' "So we've got to get some of those players back and ideally we keep more of them at a young age, which we have to do, but then to get a few of them back after they've done a apprenticeship in rugby league is fantastic." Jones also expanded on his move to bring league legend Andrew Johns into the Wallabies camp in Sydney last week. Johns worked with Australia's playmakers at Coogee Oval, honing their skills ahead of the Rugby Championship opener against the Springboks in Pretoria on July 9 (AEST). Jones - who named his Rugby Championship squad on Sunday - also brought Rugby World Cup-winning Wallabies coach Bob Dwyer into camp last week to deliver similarly clear messaging. "It goes back to what Bob was saying, we want to play straight and that's always been the Australian way," Jones said. "We've lost our way a little bit there and Andrew Johns - I've never seen a guy who understands that part of the game better than him. Just the little tricks he does with his eyes and his feet. We've got a young guy, Carter Gordon, who's only played 15 Super Rugby games. So to have 35 minutes with the maestro, it's going to be invaluable for his career." https://twitter.com/StanSportRugby/status/1673141527306989571?s=20 For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here https://ift.tt/JFs54iT //
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