WHENEVER THE TV cameras flashed up an image of the South Africa coaching box during the 2023 World Cup in France, the eyes tended to be drawn toward Rassie Erasmus. The mastermind of South Africa’s back-to-back World Cup successes was usually placed to the right of the coaching box, with defensive guru Jacques Nienaber parked to his left.
Yet the man with the most interesting seat in the house was located right between South Africa’s box-office coaching duo. Felix Jones might not have generated as many headlines as Erasmus or Nienaber but the Irishman proved an integral part of South Africa’s journey to winning back-to-back World Cup titles.
Now he’s set for a new challenge. Since last year it’s been known that Jones would be joining Steve Borthwick’s England set-up after the 2023 World Cup and earlier this week it was confirmed the Dubliner will take on the role of defence coach. It’s the latest fascinating move for a man who has always been ambitious with his coaching career, with his stock only rising since stepping out of the Irish system in 2019.
His potential as an elite coach was identified a long way out. A firm favourite of Joe Schmidt’s during his time as Ireland head coach, Jones was known for his attention to detail and reading of the game.
A skillful back three player who came through at Leinster before playing 90 times for Munster, Jones – who was also capped 13 times by Ireland – saw his playing days cut short at the age of just 28 as a result of a neck injury in 2015.
It was a devastating blow but Anthony Foley saw his worth beyond the pitch and kept Jones involved while he began studying for a Masters in Sports, Exercise and Performance Psychology at the University of Limerick.
Just one year after being forced into retirement Jones was handed a role as a technical coach when Rassie Erasmus arrived as Munster director of rugby, signalling the start of what would become a highly successful relationship.
He soon stepped up to attack coach and as Erasmus prepared to leave Munster in 2017, he admitted Jones had already taken over many of his coaching duties the previous season.
When Erasmus finally left the province later that year, Jones – who had been linked with the top job at Thomond Park – stayed on to work with Johann van Graan before turning down a new contract and leaving the province alongside scrum coach Jerry Flannery in 2019.
In the build-up to that year’s World Cup in Japan, Jones was parachuted into South Africa’s coaching ticket.
It was no great secret that Schmidt – who brought Jones, Ronan O’Gara and Girvan Dempsey as assistant coaches on Ireland’s 2017 tour to the USA and Japan – was disappointed to see him slip out of the Irish system. At the time, the New Zealander even revealed how the IRFU had offered a number of unspecified roles to Jones after he had rejected a contract at Munster. Irish rugby wanted Jones to stay, but he decided to follow a different path.
Originally brought in to do analysis on opposition teams, Jones’ role with South Africa quickly expanded. The excellent Chasing The Sun documentary released after South Africa’s World Cup success that year highlighted Jones’ role in delivering tactical presentations to the players throughout the tournament.
Erasmus knew he had a serious operator on his hands. Over the next four years Jones continued to live in Ireland while working with South Africa’s European-based players ahead of their World Cup defence in France last year, while also living in South Africa for an extended period around the 2021 Lions Tour.
By this point Jones was now a central part of South Africa’s coaching set-up, despite his role never quite being clearly defined.
During the World Cup in France he was brought out to hold court during some of South Africa pre-game press conferences, speaking cautiously and thoughtfully from the top table. Likewise, the South African players spoke in glowing terms when asked about Jones – Kwagga Smith stating “he’s an amazing coach and person. All of us as Springboks are better players because of him.”
The Seapoint clubman clearly made a big impression during his five years with the Springboks and his next step is just as intriguing as anything he has done to date. Having started out as an attack coach, Jones will now take on a defensive brief with England. Of course, in Jacques Nienaber Jones was learning from one of the best defence coaches around during his time with South Africa.
It’s tempting to think Jones will look to employ a Springbok-esque defensive system with England but he will surely look to add his own stamp to things too.
The move comes at an interesting time for all parties involved. England took a gamble in firing Eddie Jones a year out from the 2023 World Cup and while Borthwick’s side travelled to France with low expectations from the outside world, they returned home with bronze medals in their pockets.
Now Borthwick is looking to build on that momentum by shaking things up. Kevin Sinfield had been in charge of England’s defence under Borthwick but will now move on after their summer tour to New Zealand and Japan.
Jones joins an England squad who have fallen desperately short of their potential in recent Six Nations campaigns – winning just two of their five Six Nations games in each of the last three seasons. As Borthwick himself knows all too well, the pressure will be on Jones to deliver right from the off.
And while Jones’ move had been earmarked a year in advance, he’ll begin his new role at a time when there is plenty of movement with regards coaching positions in Ireland. It was recently confirmed Ireland attack coach Mike Catt is moving on this summer. Andrew Goodman has since been appointed to take his place, leaving a vacancy in the same role at Leinster for next season.
The IRFU would surely value having someone of Jones’ experience back on their books, but for now his journey will continue elsewhere.
At just 36 he’s already achieved more than more coaches could dream of at Test level. The RFU will hope Ireland’s loss proves to be England’s gain.
