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Jones: Deans' days are numbered

Eddie Jones believes that ongoing disciplinary issues in the Wallabies camp mean that Robbie Deans will be replaced as coach quite soon.

Jones, who took the Wallabies to the World Cup Final on home soil in 2003 and currently coaches Japan, said that although Deans has done a "pretty fair job" in his time at the helm, he is likely to be replaced by either Ewen McKenzie or Jake White fairly soon.

Jones explained that the behavourial problems from players such as Kurtley Beale, Quade Cooper and James O'Connor are likely to be the cause of Deans' downfall, rather than results on the pitch.

"There's continuing problems off the field of ill-discipline and I think that's something that needs to get sorted out and it's obviously not going to happen under Robbie's regime," Jones told ABC Grandstand.

Although the ARU have made it clear that Deans' future does not depend on the outcome of the final Test against the British and Irish Lions this weekend, Jones believes that they will seek an alternative in the build-up to the World Cup in 2015.

He added that White and McKenzie are the front-runners for the position, with the possibility of both men having an opportunity to coach the Wallabies in the future.

"I think they will either go for Ewen to take over immediately (before The Rugby Championship) or go for Jake to take it for two years and then probably groom Ewen to take it over in 2016 and in the next two years try and sort out the (Melbourne) Rebels," he said.

 

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