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SYDNEY - The Wallabies gather for a rugby World Cup training camp on Tuesday amid reports of a rift between coaching staff, and the news former coach Eddie Jones will extend his contract with the Springboks.
Coach John Connolly assembles his 30-man squad at a beachside Manly hotel north of Sydney for a three-day camp, six weeks out from the World Cup opener in France.
A ball hasn't yet been kicked in anger but there are already rumblings of discontent in the ranks.
Sydney Morning Herald rugby writer Greg Growden devoted his Monday column to alleged tension between the four-man coaching panel which has prompted the intervention of the Australian Rugby Union (ARU).
ARU sources were quoted as saying there were "deep concerns" about the disharmony which rose to a head at last week's Wallabies awards night in Brisbane.
The report said team officials bickered in front of stunned onlookers, and at least one had "heated arguments" with high-ranking ARU figures.
"Many senior players have lost confidence in several members of the Australian team management, with the belief being that some officials are more ego-driven than having the team's welfare as their No 1 priority," Growden wrote.
The men in question are Connolly, backs coach Scott Johnson, forwards coach Michael Foley and defensive coach John Muggleton.
At training Connolly takes more of a back seat role, overseeing the sessions while Johnson calls most of the shots - apparently a source of unease among the coaching deputies who are said to be intensely competitive.
Johnson, the former Wales coach, is outwardly the character of the group. He wore camouflage clothing to a press conference in Brisbane last year after the All Blacks suggested he was spying on their training sessions.
This year Johnson has barely been sighted at press conferences, with Muggleton or Foley accompanying Connolly.
A perceived Queensland bias within the squad and the presence of league legend Andrew Johns at some trainings has also heightened tensions, the report said.
Meanwhile, Jones confirmed he was hoping to extend his one-week consultancy role with the Springboks to a role as technical director alongside coach Jake White at the World Cup.
"We haven't got everything confirmed yet, but there is a likelihood that I will be doing more with them," said Jones, who guided the Wallabies to the 2003 final where they lost to England.
"I will be there for the start of the World Cup, but not for all of it."
Jones recently signed a deal with English club Saracens which gave its blessing to Jones' South African role.
ARU chief executive John O'Neill expressed his disgust last week that Jones would assist their rivals.
"It's not something you would expect of a former Australian coach," O'Neill told the Daily Telegraph.
"He would argue, 'I'm a professional coach'. I would just put a caveat in there that you've got to be a bit more discerning."
The Wallabies and Springboks could meet in the World Cup quarterfinals.
- NZPA
