Jones brings in Hatley as Wallabies scrum coach

SYDNEY: Australia coach Eddie Jones added another assistant coach to his team on Thursday when the experienced Neal Hatley was put in charge of the Wallabies scrum. Hatley worked with Jones in the England setup in the run-up to the successful 2019 World Cup campaign before rejoining the Bath club, where he had a spell as head coach before again taking up his speciality as mentor for the forwards.

"I'm honoured to join Eddie and the Wallabies in what's a massive year with the World Cup just over five months away," Hatley said in a Rugby Australia news release. "I know there's plenty of potential within the playing group in Australia and I'm looking forward to maximising that when I begin the role."

Jones, who was sacked by England last December before replacing Dave Rennie in the Wallabies job in January, appointed former rugby league player Brett Hodgson as his defence coach last month. The Wallabies still lack an attack or an overall forwards coach, although Jones has plenty of time to add those elements to his team with Australia's first Rugby Championship fixture not until early July when they play South Africa in Pretoria.

Jones also announced the appointment of experienced Australian Rules coach David Rath as the squad's Learning Coordinator. "It's great to have Neal and David on board with the Wallabies," Jones said.

"Neal's a coach with a tremendous amount of experience and knows what's required to be successful at International level. "David has worked with the best coaches in the AFL and will bring a skill set that will help aid our learning environment."