Arizona Tribune - Australia's Jones plays down ex-New Zealand coach Hansen's advisory role

Hansen, 64, has joined the Wallabies and long-standing friend Jones in France on a voluntary basis as they prepare to face the Rugby World Cup hosts on Sunday in a pre-tournament warm-up.

"Steve's having a look at both those areas," Jones told reporters.

"Every time he speaks, there's some wisdom in what he says, when he says something we're listening to him.

"It's purely like a mate coming in, having a beer, and asking what do you think?"

The news of 2015 World Cup-winning coach Hansen's stint with bitter rivals Australia came as a shock to All Blacks hooker Dane Coles, who said on Monday he was "gobsmacked".

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins even joked to reporters that he would cancel Hansen's citizenship.

Jones, who is yet to win in four games since coming back as Wallabies head coach in January, said Hansen's arrival had been welcomed by his players.

"They like good people coming into camp," the 63-year-old Jones said.

"I think he coached 200 Tests, for the All Blacks he won I think 87% of them."

"The attitude's been really positive," the former England coach added.

This weekend is Australia's final match before their Pool C opener with Georgia, also at the Stade de France, on September 9.

They also play Fiji, Wales and Portugal in the group.

Inexperienced backs Ben Donaldson and Suliasi Vunivalu, who have just four caps between them, are likely to feature in the French capital with prop Taniela Tupou also set to be involved after recovering from an Achilles tear.

"While we're not disregarding France and not treating it purely as a training run, our aim is to get things right for the World Cup," Jones said.

"We have four pool games, which are all going to be important.

"This is an important part of our preparation for the Georgia game."

P.Smith--AT