Jones shuts up shop
August 10, 2002

Wallaby coach Eddie Jones has vowed not to talk about South Africa again until after next weekend's Tri-Nations decider.

Jones has been reportedly quoted as saying the Springbok forwards aren't as hard as they used to be, and the Boks players have reacted, with hooker James Dalton and prop Willie Meyer both unhappy with the comments.

Dalton fired back by calling the comments "unintelligent" and questioning Jones' credibility, while Meyer said ahead of the South Africa versus New Zealand match in Durban on Saturday that Jones should play so he "can feel for himself" their power.

But preparing to leave with the Wallabies on Sunday morning for Australia's tilt at a third successive Tri-Nations title, Jones says he won't be talking about the South Africans again because he is worried if he does so it will be taken "out of context".

"I'm not interested in commenting about South Africa," Jones told reporters in Coffs Harbour. "If you say something it's taken out of context so we're really not interested in commenting about them at all."

As for the drugs tribunal winger Ben Tune will have to attend on Monday morning having been stood down from the team, Jones says he is unconcerned that the South African Union had called for Tune to be left out pending the hearing.

"Every union's got a right to exercise their duty to the IRB and that's what South Africa are doing. We're not really concerned with South Africa, we're concerned with ourselves," Jones said. Whatever South Africa do they can do, we'll worry about ourselves."

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