LAST UPDATE | 2 Apr 2020

EDDIE JONES WILL continue as England’s head coach until the 2023 World Cup after agreeing a two-year extension to his current deal.

And he declared his ambition for his side to be remembered as “the greatest team the game has ever seen”.

Jones had been committed until August 2021 but talks have been ongoing with the Rugby Football Union for several months.

Now the Australian has confirmed that he will take another tilt at the sport’s biggest prize, having overseen a runners-up finish in Japan last year.

“I never thought coming here four years ago I would be doing a second four years but the circumstances are right,” Jones said.

“Obviously it is important for the team that we keep improving and my focus will be solely on that.

I am excited about raising the standards again. We have a great team. We set out four years ago to be the best team in the world and unfortunately we missed that by 80 minutes. Now we want to be the team that is remembered as being the greatest team the game has ever seen. It’s a big ambition but I believe we are capable of doing it.

“We have players with an enhanced reputation, we have a team that is expected to do well, so it’s a great opportunity for us to keep moving forward.”

The 60-year-old has joined RFU executives in accepting a 25% pay cut as part of the organisation’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, but uncertainty over the situation has not stopped future planning.

Jones has held the position since 2015, taking over from Stuart Lancaster, winning two Six Nations titles – including the 2016 Grand Slam.

The highlight of his reign was arguably the 19-7 victory over New Zealand in the World Cup semi-final, a dominant performance which could not be replicated in the showpiece against South Africa.

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