Eddie Jones has likened the presence of New Zealand's World Cup-winning coach Steve Hansen in the Wallabies camp to having a chat with a mate over a beer rather than talking team tactics.

The Kiwis were rocked to hear that Hansen was in enemy territory ahead of next month's tournament in France, with New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins joking his citizenship should be cancelled.

Veteran hooker Dane Coles said he was gobsmacked and admitted it "hurt a bit" to see his former coach involved with their arch-rivals.

Jones said he had called on his long-time coaching rival and good friend to get a fresh perspective on the Wallabies, who open their World Cup against Georgia on Saturday September 9 local time.

"I've coached against Steve since 1998 so we've got a long relationship, enjoy each other's company and I always had the thought we wanted this week to be a reset week for us," Jones told reporters from France on Tuesday night.

"We've been through the Rugby Championship, done our Australian responsibilities and now it's a rest, so we've brought in Steve to have a look at what we're doing.

Asked what Hansen was looking at, Jones replied: "There's two main areas: There's training quality, which is our way of improving, and leadership of the team.

"So Steve is having a look at both of those areas.

"Every time he speaks there is some wisdom is what he says. 

"When he says something, we are listening to him and how we can improve what we are doing. We are looking to to see if we can use his advice to do that."