Santos Festival of Rugby gets big tick from Wallabies coach Eddie Jones

The returning mentor was at Narrabri on Saturday for the second day of what was the third annual festival, and was impressed by what he witnessed.

"I was just talking to the Santos CEO [about] what a fantastic event it is," Jones said.

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"You see the crowd here, you see the girls playing in a very good game of rugby and now the men are going to play."

"I met the president of Moree and the person in charge of junior rugby in Scone and everyone's really excited about the opportunity to see some of the best players in Australia."

Since his appointment Jones, who was at Griffith the weekend before for the Waratahs' trial against the Brumbies, has spoken about the importance of connecting with fans, and knows the role events like the weekend can play in that.

"They're catalysts for growth," he said.

"They give young kids an opportunity to see their stars and one word from a star to a young kid, he'll remember that for the rest of his life."

One of the special guests at the long lunch, he was then a keen observer for the Reds and Waratahs trial, and happily mingled with fans.

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