Jon Wells claims player’s £850,000 move is a “terrible investment”

Since Eddie Jones took over the role as head coach of Australia’s rugby union side he’s been on the lookout for rugby league talent.

Jones is a huge rugby league and NRL fan, something that had fuelled rumours he could make a switch to coaching in the NRL before he assumed his position with Australia.

A massive fan of South Sydney Rabbitohs, his major acquisition from rugby league to rugby union so far is ironically a Sydney Roosters star.

Samoan World Cup hero Joseph Suaalii will make the transition to the 15-man code as part of Jones’ masterplan to win the World Cup in 2027.

That’s a World Cup on Australian soil and as such Rugby Australia are throwing plenty of money around to try and win a first World Cup since 1999.

In that spending so far Suaalii has been the keystone piece with the versatile back seemingly paramount to Jones’ plans, but Jon Wells has criticised that spending.

Speaking on The Bench podcast, Wells expressed his opinion that the spending was wasteful.

“I think it’s a terrible investment for the Wallabies. It’s a huge wager on short term success.

“If the Wallabies want the sort of success that the NRL are getting then the investment is clearly in the grassroots and the development of the game wide-spread.

“That’s where the money should be going, Brandon Smith has said ‘when he’s bought a couple of houses, he’ll be coming back to league’.”

Jenna Brooks had earlier ‘benched’ Eddie Jones for his efforts to grab talent from rugby league, to which Wells passionately agreed as he cited the huge figures that make the “terrible investment” quite so terrible.

Wells said: “They’ve spent $1.6 million Aussie dollars on one player, it’s insane.

“He’s desperate. It’s a big shot in the arm for rugby league because these are players in demand.”