{"id":448637,"date":"2026-01-31T02:26:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T02:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/448637\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T02:26:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T02:26:12","slug":"the-one-question-eddie-jones-has-over-angus-crichtons-wallabies-hopes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/448637\/","title":{"rendered":"‘The one question’ Eddie Jones has over Angus Crichton’s Wallabies hopes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Angus Crichton is a Wallaby in waiting in the eyes of Japan<\/a> coach Eddie Jones, but there\u2019s a question over exactly how effective he can be once there, considering his transition is something of a last-minute affair in the context of the 2027 Rugby World Cup.<\/p>\n

The 29-year-old\u2019s talent was lauded by the ex-Wallabies boss in the wake of his signing announcement, with further endorsements from Wallabies icons George Gregan<\/a> and Ewen McKenzie<\/a> giving Wallaby fans plenty to smile about.<\/p>\n

But with his Rugby Australia<\/a> deal only commencing a year from now, there will be just one Super Rugby Pacific<\/a> campaign and a Rugby Championship<\/a> worth of game time to potentially get the NRL star up to speed on the rigours of Test rugby.<\/p>\n

At least there\u2019s unanimity over what position he\u2019s best-suited for.<\/p>\n

\u201cA big, bustling 12, mate,\u201d Jones grinned on the Rugby Unity<\/a> podcast. \u201cHe can take on the line. The only question is, is he going to get the preparation to be alright for the World Cup?<\/p>\n

\u201cSuper Rugby is a pretty skinny competition now, and he\u2019s only got that one season before he goes into the World Cup. It would have been ideal if he had another season and went on a European tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no doubt he\u2019s a good enough player; he\u2019s a State of Origin player, big guy with pace, he\u2019s got aggression, he\u2019s got enough ball skills to be successful. It\u2019s just, is he going to get enough time in the saddle?\u201d<\/p>\n

That question was thrown Gregan\u2019s way, and the former halfback had a realist\u2019s response.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the time\u2019s the time, he\u2019s going to have to make the most of it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s like cramming for an exam. Having a little bit of extra time in the saddle would have been ideal.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I watched him play the first Test at Wembley last year with the Kangaroos, and he plays on the edge, like a centre; he has that ability to straighten the line, come back at the ball, he\u2019s got really good ball skills and is a really good defender. So, that\u2019s going to be his position.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they\u2019ll learn quickly. They\u2019ll back themselves. That\u2019s what I love about any of the rugby league players who made the transition across, be it Wendell, Lote Tuqiri<\/a>, Matty Rogers, Peter Ryan, Andrew Walker<\/a>, they pick it up very quickly. And they bring their skill set and their mindset into it, which I think is going to be very good for the Wallabies, because he\u2019s a winner.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy take would be he\u2019s definitely going to be a midfielder, just because of those traits I saw at Wembley.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former Wallaby prop and head coach Ewan McKenzie was on hand to offer a more optimistic view, leaning on Crichton\u2019s upbringing in the 15-man game.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe comes from a rugby background, so he has played the game. A lot of those converts never played the game. So, he\u2019ll have to draw on his memory bank.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen the highlights of him playing as a schoolboy at 12, and hopefully he\u2019ll remember that, and the instincts will still be there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIdeally, you\u2019d have a long preparation. He hasn\u2019t got it, but he\u2019s certainly motivated. He\u2019s made the decision, and he wants to get on with it, which is commendable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love a skilful, powerful 12, and assuming that\u2019s where he\u2019s going to play and not in the back row, where it would be a lot harder for him, he\u2019ll give himself every chance.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Angus Crichton is a Wallaby in waiting in the eyes of Japan coach Eddie Jones, but there\u2019s a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":448638,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-448637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=448637"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448637\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/448638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=448637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=448637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=448637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}