Australia coach Eddie Jones says Sir Clive Woodward is "100% right" to take a 26-strong management team on next summer's Lions' tour to New Zealand. The size of the party, the biggest in British and Irish Lions' history, has been criticised in some quarters.
Jones has often clashed with Woodward but now backs his old rival's decision.
"All Clive has done, which is quite smart of him, is to put the right sort of management staff in place for the tour they are going to have," he said.
Woodward has opted to take two sets of coaching staff - one for the midweek-game squads and one for the Test squads.
 |  To expect one coaching staff to coach on a Wednesday and Saturday is just impossible |
"I think what Clive is saying is 100% right. Players don't play two games a week now. The games are too hard," said Jones. "When it was amateur, you could turn up three days before the game and put a game-plan together.
"Now every team has 25 options at their line-out. So to expect one coaching staff to coach on a Wednesday and Saturday is just impossible."
Jones and Woodward were feisty rivals when the latter was in charge of England but the Australian coach is saddened that Woodward could leave rugby after the Lions' tour.
"It is disappointing Clive is not continuing in rugby," he said.
"The role he has played in raising the standards has been enormous. He leaves a pretty big legacy to the game."
MMIX
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