Socceroos coach Popovic taps rugby supremo Jones ahead of World Cup

Australia coach Tony Popovic has tapped former Wallabies and England rugby supremo Eddie Jones for advice ahead of the World Cup, gleaning “a lot of information” from him.

The Socceroos boss said he also planned to talk with Australian Rules coaches about how best to deal with the mandatory drinks breaks at the June 11-July 19 tournament in North America.

They will essentially make games four quarters instead of two halves, the same as Australia’s most popular spectator sport.

“I actually had breakfast with Eddie Jones in Tokyo, which was interesting,” Popovic told Australian media on Wednesday of the current Japan rugby coach.

“When you’ve coached at least four different nations, you’ve won a World Cup, you’ve done many five- to six-week preparations, his insight was (valuable).

“He was very open and showed me a lot of information and how he learned from things that they did wrong, whether it’s family and friends (around the camp), or whether it’s not giving enough days off to the staff or the players.”

Jones steered Australia to the 2003 Rugby World Cup final and was an adviser with South Africa when they won the tournament four years later.

Popovic was a player in the Guus Hiddink-led Australia squad that made the last 16 at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

It will be his first World Cup as a coach and he is eager to learn how best to deal with the drinks intervals which could potentially interrupt momentum.

“Four quarters is very different, and we’ll have to come up with a few ideas and strategies,” he said, which is where his chats with Australian Rules coaches could come in handy.

“They have strategies after a quarter, what they do in the first three or four minutes, how do they get on top, how do they get back into the rhythm of the game?

“We are looking at all of that to see where we can get an advantage over the opponent and where we can be better than someone else.”

Australia, who are at their sixth straight World Cup, have been drawn in Group D with co-hosts the United States, Paraguay and a yet-to-be determined European nation.