Jones turns to England, AFL to bolster Wallabies staff

Eddie Jones has boosted his Wallabies coaching staff, adding Neal Hatley from England as scrum coach and David Rath from AFL as "learning coordinator".

EDDIE JONES.
EDDIE JONES. Picture: David Rogers/Getty Images

Wallabies coach Eddie Jones has again showed his willingness to embrace rival codes, with ex-AFL specialist David Rath joining his coaching staff.

Rugby Australia confirmed Rath's appointment on Friday as well as Englishman Neal Hatley, who will be the new scrum coach.

Hatley is currently Bath's forwards coach in the English Premiership and will join up with the Wallabies in May.

A former prop, Hatley was part of Jones's England coaching set-up for the 2018 Rugby World Cup in Japan, where the team reached the final.

Rath has been appointed as "learning coordinator", a role similar to that played by ex-AFL great Neil Craig, who spent five years by Jones's side with England.

Rath made the move from St Kilda, where he held a number of roles in high performance including head of football.

Before the Saints, Rath was part of Hawthorn's staff as the AFL club won four AFL premierships between 2008 and 2015.

The Wallabies already have ex-NRL star Brett Hodgson on board as their defensive coach.

Jones said Rath and Hartley would bring valuable experience ahead of this year's Rugby World Cup in France in just over five months.

"Neal's a coach with a tremendous amount of experience and knows what's required to be successful at International level," Jones said in a statement.

"David has worked with the best coaches in the AFL and will bring a skill set that will help aid our learning environment."