Ask any group of Wallabies for their thoughts on Eddie Jones, and you’ll get a mixed bag of responses.

There will be a number who aren’t big fans, with memories of being ignored or axed in 2023 – and, for some, missing the squad for the Rugby World Cup – still fresh. Some remain disappointed about the painful memories of a World Cup campaign that didn’t need to end up a smouldering bin fire.

But some players still appreciate Jones, complicated as their feelings may be. For several now-established Wallabies, Jones was the man who gave them their first call-up and launched their journey in gold.

Max Jorgensen is one. In early 2023, Jorgensen was just 18, in his first year out of school and just a handful of games into his NSW career when he was first invited by Jones to a Wallabies camp.

“If you are good enough, you’re old enough,” Jones said at the time.

A nasty knee injury saw him miss the end of that year’s Super Rugby season but Jones remained a fan, and he plucked Jorgensen from rehab and put him in the 2023 Rugby World Cup squad. A broken leg at training midway through the tournament denied Jorgensen a likely Test debut, but the experience still shaped the youngster.

“It’s a tough one, it’s probably very opinion-based on who you ask, and everyone will probably give you different answers,” Jorgensen said, when asked about his view of Jones.

“But he backed me when I was 18 to go to the World Cup, and always has backed me, so I’ve got nothing against him. He was one of the coaches who first backed me, who allowed me to learn in that Wallaby and Test-level arena. He gave me that first opportunity, and it was special. Yeah, I’ve definitely got nothing against Eddie.”

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since 2023. Jones moved to coach Japan soon after and Wallabies players have also moved on. The clash against Jones in Osaka on Saturday isn’t even the first time the sides have met, after the Wallabies claimed victory over Japan in Tokyo last year.

There will be no motivation to ‘get one over Eddie’, according to Wallabies flanker Rob Valetini.

“Playing for the Wallabies, you always want to win your games,” he said. “Obviously we want to try and get one up against Japan this week, and Eddie’s just is coaching the team. Most importantly we just want to win this game this week. Nothing against Eddie or anything, we just do it for the jersey.”

Jorgensen ended up making his Test debut in mid-2024, under Joe Schmidt, and less than three months later scored that try to secure a famous win over England at Twickenham. How much of Jorgensen’s confidence can be traced back to his Wallabies exposure a year earlier can’t be measured, but the percentage is also not zero.

Having helped develop the Wallabies potential in Jorgensen, however, Jones may now have a problem on his hands in Osaka. Jorgensen was rested against Jones’ Japan last year, and the young Aussie is even more highly enthusiastic to show his talent than normal.

Now 21, the blond flyer has gone on to become a genuine Wallabies superstar, and last year he scored impressive tries in two of the three Lions Tests, and also in two Tests against South Africa.

Jorgensen’s solo try against France in the last game of the spring tour was world-class, as were most of the six tries he scored in the opening three games for the Waratahs this year.

But since then there has been … not much. A frustrating year saw Jorgensen pick up only two more tries for NSW, and of 18 tries scored by the Wallabies in three Tests in July, Jorgensen didn’t grab a single one. It’s not quite a try drought, but nor has it rained for a while.

“I’m learning every day, every week, every game, really, so it’s been a really good year on the learning side of things,” Jorgensen said. “Some games the ball comes to you, sometimes it doesn’t, and that’s the story of being on the wing – sometimes that’s just footy.”

Jorgensen has tried all sorts of ways to get himself more involved and getting more opportunities to show off his fast feet, and also been aware to not overplay his hand when the ball does come his way.

“You try and get involved as much as you can, get off your wing, get into the midfield, find yourself on the other side or on the other wing,” Jorgensen said.

“Sometimes you can be one-sided, but that’s what we’re trying to get out of our game. You really want to play both sides of the field. But as I said, it’s all part of footy: one week it can be lots of touches, the next none, so it’s all part of it. You just keep working.”

As Jones knows, Jorgensen is too good to not be scoring spectacular tries. He’ll be hoping the drought doesn’t end this weekend in Osaka.