Eddie Jones has called for a 'Packer revolution' to save Australian rugby, which is currently being 'killed' by rugby league. 

In a lengthy one-on-one conversation with Bulldogs supremo Phil Gould filmed for Stan Sports, the newly-appointed Wallabies coach lamented the talent drain that has blighted union over the past decade.

The likes of Cameron Murray, Angus Crichton and Joseph Sua’ali’i have all been picked up by NRL clubs despite coming through at junior level for rugby clubs.

Jones has bullishly suggested he may raid league to convince some of the game's biggest stars to switch codes, but acknowledged union needed to stop hemorrhaging talents to begin with.  

'The clubs have remained strong but there hasn’t been that evolution to identify talent and bring that talent through,' Jones told Gould as he reflected on the Wallabies' decline from their heyday at the turn of the century. 

'That’s why rugby league is killing rugby at that age group at the moment,'

'At some stage, someone strategic has to come in and say: "Enough is enough, and this is what we need to do". 

'As you know, it always costs money, to make that sacrifice to spend that money to get the game right in ten years time.'

The Wallabies have reached two Rugby World Cup finals in the past 20 years but endured a dismal run of form under Jones' predecessor Dave Rennie, who won 38 percent of his 34 Tests in charge of Australia - the lowest of any Wallabies coach in the professional era.

More worryingly, Jones insisted the code in Australia was in dire straits from a financial perspective and suggested a 'Packer revolution' could be on the cards soon.

The reference is to the World Series Cricket, which was set up by Nine Network magnate Kerry Packer in 1977 and ran in direct competition with established international cricket for two years.

Packer set up the competition in response to suggestion players were not being sufficiently paid and because he felt national cricket boards were not maximising the sport's commercial potential. 

Jones did not detail how a so-called 'Packer revolution' would work, but insisted Australian rugby badly needed it. 

'It filters down [from Wallabies-generated revenue], but there is just not enough of it. There is not enough money to be made,' he said.

'At some stage in rugby there is going to be like a Packer revolution, where the game changes and a lot more money comes in and helps develop the players. I think that will happen at some stage.'

Last year, RA hailed hailed its financial recovery as a 'remarkable turnaround' after admitting in 2021 the Covid-19 pandemic had almost sunk the professional game in the country. 

In April, it reported a $4.5million loss in 2021 financial year, a considerable improvement from the $27.1million deficit it had posted the previous year.

A new broadcast deal with Nine and Stan delivered a much-needed $15million increase in annual broadcast revenue, with total revenues climbing by $33million from 2020.

And major financial windfalls lay ahead for Rugby Australia in the form of the Lions tour in 2025, followed by the Rugby World Cup two years later and the Women's Rugby World Cup in 2029. 

Jones also noted talent in Australian rugby had been diluted by the expansion of Super Rugby, with five Aussie teams - Melbourne Rebels, New South Wales Waratahs, Queensland Reds, ACT Brumbies and Western Force - now in the competition.

'It became too easy for a while in Australia to play professional rugby with five teams but now we are getting to a stage where it is becoming more competitive and it’ll drive players to come through,' he said.

'Australia rugby was strongest when we only had three Super Rugby teams, and those teams were fairly settled. And they ran like club teams.' 

Stan Sport is the Home of Rugby in Australia, showing all the Super Rugby matches, as well as Wallabies Test matches and Rugby World Cup games live and in 4K.