Hours out from the Wallabies departure for the Rugby World Cup, their campaign has been rocked with assistant coach Brad Davis quitting immediately due to “personal reasons”.
Announced as Eddie Jones’ attack coach in May, Davis has quit immediately and will no longer join the squad in France, instead he will return to the UK where he will deal with personal matters, Rugby Australia confirmed on Thursday morning.
The Wallabies are set to fly out of Sydney on Thursday afternoon with a final warm-up game against France scheduled for Monday Aug. 28 (AEST) with their campaign kicking off Sept. 9 against Georgia.
Davis’ departure adds to the recent upheaval within the camp with Will Skelton named the fifth captain for the side this year, and the omissions of former captain Michael Hooper and Quade Cooper from the World Cup squad.
The Wallabies were farewelled by a small but passionate group of fans in Sydney on Wednesday afternoon, where Skelton admitted he was still adjusting to his new role.
“I’ve leaned on the other boys a lot,” Skelton told reporters in Sydney.
“Slips (Slipper), Whitey (Nic White), Andrew Kellaway. They’ve helped me through this week.
“I’m still a bit awkward when I’m in the huddle. The boys are looking at me for that last say – something I’m not used to.
“But I really want to grow in this role and make it mine.”
Meanwhile, Fraser McReight revealed he had received well wishes from Hooper, whom the Queenslander had been preferred in part due to the former Wallabies’ skippers’ ongoing struggles with a calf injury.
“Yeah he messaged me this morning and said ‘go well, mate’, and I’ve had a few messages back and forth with him over the past few weeks. So we keep in touch and I’m sure that won’t be the last of it as well.”