English rugby team coach Eddie Jones has been sacked after presiding over the nation’s worst run of results since 2008.
National Daily learnt that the 62-year-old was left fighting for his future after overseeing a disappointing 2022 consisting of six defeats, a draw and five wins and ending with a comprehensive loss to South Africa a fortnight ago.
‘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 Rugby Football Union CEO, Bill Sweeney.
England has recorded the worst run of results since 2008 under Jones
‘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.
‘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 RFU will now look to appoint a successor, with Leicester head coach and former England forwards specialist Steve Borthwick the front-runner.
New Zealander Warren Gatland had also been linked with the post, but committed to a second term as Wales head coach on Monday following Wayne Pivac’s departure from that job.
The review panel has regularly presented to the board during its investigation into what went wrong during an autumn that opened with defeat to Argentina, produced a solitary victory over Japan and a draw with New Zealand before signing off with an abject collapse against the Springboks.