EDDIE JONES HAS been sacked by England with his former assistant, Steve Borthwick, now likely to succeed him.
In the meantime Richard Cockerill will take over ‘the day-to-day running’ of the team, although given how there are no matches until the Six Nations kicks off in February, his routine isn’t likely to be too taxing.
Finding a settlement with Leicester for Borthwick will be the RFU’s next job while paying off the remainder of Jones’ £750,000-a-year contract will be costly as his contract ran up until the end of next year’s World Cup.
“It is important to recognise the huge contribution Eddie has made to English rugby, winning three Six Nations Championships, one Grand Slam and taking us to a Rugby World Cup Final,” said RFU CEO, Bill Sweeney, in a statement.
“He has the highest win ratio of any previous England head coach and has helped develop the leadership skills of many players and coaches. I am grateful to Eddie for all he has done for England across many areas of the game and the professional way in which he has approached reviewing the performance of the team. He has provided the panel with astute insight and meaningful lessons that will support the team performance going forward.”
During his time in charge Jones steered England to three Six Nations titles, including a Grand Slam in 2016, two series wins in Australia, an unbeaten run of 18 matches, an Autumn Nations Cup, and a Rugby World Cup final in Japan.
He has also guided them to two fifth-place finishes in the Six Nations – their lowest finishing positions since 1983.
“I am pleased with much that we have achieved as an England team and I look forward to watching the team’s performance in the future,” said Jones. “Many of the players and I will no doubt keep in touch and I wish them all well in their future careers.”
The decision for Jones to leave was taken by the RFU board earlier today. Speaking about the decision, RFU Chair, Tom Ilube said: ”The independent review panel regularly updates board on its discussions and findings. We are fully supportive of its process and recommendations.”
