New Australia rugby coach Eddie Jones visits Trinity

It was a real honour to welcome former England Rugby coach and legend Eddie Jones to Trinity at the end of last week, where he spent time coaching and fielding questions from our very excitable students. 

Hours before signing his new five-year contract with the Wallabies ahead of the World Cup 2023 (he’d hinted he had to get final approval from his wife for a new role), Eddie had been out on the pitches at Trinity, completely focused on putting our young rugby players through their paces.

The group of JBug and First Year rugby players had been warming up, eagerly awaiting Eddie’s arrival. After a tour of the school with Mr Rounds, Eddie got stuck straight in with our students; observing their play, giving tips, keeping the game moving on before taking them through a passing drill. The level of energy and commitment the students demonstrated during the session was impressive – well done boys – and Eddie commented on the skill level they possessed. He also said, “Coaching is what I love; it was so good to see the young players improve, even in this short time. However, I’ve got to say, the Trinity rugby coaches have done a great job.” 

Having threatened press-ups at the end, Eddie even dropped to the wet grass and joined the students in a round of 10, further impressing the young players and cementing his Trinity legacy as ‘a legend’. 

First Year student Michael said, “I really enjoyed it. I’d gone up to Eddie at the start and introduced myself, so he knew my name and used it to call out to me during the session.” 

We then invited Eddie to the Pavilion where a group of our sports-playing Sixth Formers joined for a fascinating Q&A session. Eddie spoke about his career and the fact that by choosing rugby he ‘hasn’t worked a day in his life’. He urged students to choose a career based on something they loved doing or felt passionate about. He spoke about the importance of appreciating different cultures and how every meeting is an opportunity to have a sense of belonging to something. Luckily for the Wallabies, he also said he had a good few years left in his coaching career. 

Trinity’s Head of Performance Sport, Mr King, commented, “We’d like to thank Eddie for coming to Trinity last week, the students and staff were buzzing, and he really brought out the best in them during the coaching session. The Q&A was an insightful discussion, and we’re grateful to Eddie for his honesty, I think we all took a lot away from it. We’d also like to thank one of our parents Jimmy Worrall, Founder & Chair of Leaders in Sport, who helped organise the visit. We now wish Eddie every success in his next role ‘down-under’.”