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Jones is the popular option to stay in charge until 2023

By Josh Raisey
England head coach Eddie Jones arrives back in London.

There has been a lot of talk regarding England head coach Eddie Jones’ contract in the past few days, as discussions about his future with the Rugby Football Union are yet to be made. 

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Jones is fresh from leading England to the Rugby World Cup final, where they were beaten by the Springboks 32-12. He is contracted with the RFU until 2021, but it is unclear what the future holds for him, particularly with the risk of knee-jerk reactions after such a loss. 

With his native Australia also without a coach following the resignation of Michael Cheika, Jones will be in high-demand. There is also the question of whether he will want to rebuild a team after coming agonisingly close to winning, particularly as this was his second final that he has lost in his career (the first with Australia in 2003). 

However, the Australian is still a hugely popular figure amongst England fans, the majority of whom want to see him extend his contract through to the 2023 RWC in France. While all involved with England rugby will still be raw after the loss, a silver medal is an accomplishment that merits another bite of the cherry in four years. 

Many fans on social media are keen to point out where Jones has taken England in four years, as he took over in 2015 following their abject performance in the RWC, where they became the first host nation to fail to make it out of their pool. 

Jones also fielded the youngest ever side in a RWC final, and with a host of promising players at his disposal, he must be aware of the potential of this England side, and must even be curious as to how far they can go. 

While this was not the result that any England fan would have wanted, the performance against the All Blacks in the semi-final exhibited England at their best under Jones, and why so many are keen for him to say.

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This is what has been said: 

 

From the RFU’s perspective, history can be the greatest teacher in this circumstance, as they chose to keep Sir Clive Woodward on board after they crashed out of the 1999 RWC in the quarter-final, and he guided them to victory four years later. 

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Jones is not blameless following England’s loss on Saturday, but if the RFU were willing to keep Woodward on, they can surely afford the same generosity to him. Furthermore, with the slightly suspect track record of appointing new coaches that the RFU has, the public seem to trust Jones as England rebuild for 2023.

Watch: Saracens facing massive points deduction 

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Jon 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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