"I am happy in Europe," he said. "The Wallabies need a generational change in culture." Jones's bombshell comes as Australia's new director of rugby, Scott Johnson, is putting some noses out of joint with an aggressive pitch to bring home some of the country's top overseas-based coaches, officials and support staff. Loading Johnson is understood to have approached Fiji's strength and conditioning guru John Pryor, high performance consultant Chris Webb and attack coach Scott Wisemantel in the past month alone to sound them out about a return. RA's courting of Pryor has been aggressive and ongoing, with Cheika understood to have approached him about replacing then-athletic performance head Haydn Masters in December, Johnson making a play for him in January and a second approach in recent weeks.

When contacted by the Herald, Fiji Rugby Union general manager Geoff Webster - another Australian - declared Pryor off limits. "John Pryor is a world class practitioner and any nation would be delighted to have him, just as we are, and he is contracted to Fiji until the end of the Rugby World Cup," Webster said. Dave Rennie is firming as the next Wallabies coach despite never having coached at Test level. Credit:AAP The organisation has been similarly persistent with Wisemantel, who is currently working under Jones as England attack coach. Highly regarded by Australian and New Zealand coaches alike, he is believed to be open to a return after the World Cup, but rebuffed offers to link up with the Wallabies after Stephen Larkham's departure. The rejections leave the Wallabies without two key members of staff less than six months out from the World Cup.

Strength and conditioning consultant Dean Benton is working with the Wallabies on a short-term basis, but a more permanent fix has so far eluded the organisation. Attack coaches are also proving hard to come by, with no word yet on Larkham's replacement. Where Webb fits in to the picture is not clear. A former Waratahs team manager, he went on to launch his own consultancy and has been Equestrian Australia's high performance director for the past six years, as well as running the Sunwolves and Japan Test team's high performance programs. Making waves: Scott Johnson's aggressive recruitment drive is raising hackles among some of Australia's Test rugby rivals. Credit:AAP Ben Whitaker has been Rugby Australia's high performance general manager for several years, overseeing the overhaul of the game's development and professional pathways, the appointment of national sevens coaches and orchestrating the recent returns of some of the country's top coaching talent. The Wallabies team manager is currently Pat Molihan, a former journalist and close childhood friend of Cheika's. Rod Kafer has been working closely with Whitaker as national coach development manager. It is understood his contract expires at the end of next month and there is no word on whether he will stay on in the role.