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Jones is the popular option to stay in charge until 2023
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).
A phrase that has haunted the team for a number of years now has reared its head again.https://t.co/LDPM5WMVXR
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 4, 2019
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:
Such a young side, but their energy was definitely not the same as last weeks win. Not taking away from SA, as they completely deserved to beat us. Onwards and upwards for this team, and I would definitely encourage Eddie Jones to stay. Fingers crossed
— Bugsy Bettesworth (@may_bettesworth) November 2, 2019
In Eddie we trust, You have brought England from losing in pool stages to becoming Finalists in the world cup. The England team are now stars.
This is felt at grassroots rugby.
England must carry on, this team is a legacy to happen.
Stay with us Eddie Jones.@davidflatman— Rhino p (@james_pidgley) November 3, 2019
Eddie Jones best manger England had since sir Clive and certainly one of the best in terms of results in professional age , yes he had lot of ups and down but all teams have that . Far to many aimchair critics on sport when lose, he should stay till least next World Cup.
— Gregory Taylor (@GregoryTaylor86) November 3, 2019
Despite all the doom mongers, I truly hope that Eddie Jones has his contract extended & takes us to the next World Cup.
Time to build again.
Prediction: Youngs/Daly/Slade/Mahler/Cole/Lawes/Mako/Billy/Mano won't feature in 2023.
— Paul Pitman (@Pit_Dxb) November 4, 2019
I think we have been outstanding all the way through, they just hit a wall with South Africa. I have loved watching all the matches and think the team should be proud to have come this far. Well done to both teams and please keep Eddie Jones he is an inspirational coach!
— Stephanie Hanson (@StephanieHanso4) November 2, 2019
I know it won't happen but we should be throwing everything we have at Eddie Jones to keep him here for another 4 years!
— Edson (@MattEdson) November 2, 2019
I really hope the @EnglandRugby keep Eddie Jones around. After all the crap people have given him he’s managed to get English rugby up to the next level. Done a fantastic job.
— Ryan. (@ryanh468) November 2, 2019
Why have the RFU not opened talks with Eddie Jones yet…look at the strides he’s made with England in four years?!
Give him a shot at going one better in 2023 – it’s a no brainer ?#RWC2019 #RWCFinal
— Chris Chohan (@ChrisChohan) November 3, 2019
Great and deserved cheer for Eddie Jones, great man. Young team, average age 27 – can build from here for four years’ time. We’re coming for you.
— MLMC (@MLMC37211431) November 2, 2019
@EnglandRugby I’m sure I’m among many many fans that hope #EddieJones not only extends his contract but also stays on for the World Cup 2023, you have brought a beautiful brand of rugby that has made England fearless and fearsome! A thing to behold!
— Monty72 (@Monty72street) November 3, 2019
It’s very simple. Give him a new contract, strengthen the forward pack, and we have a chance in 2023. Lose Jones, and hire the wrong coach, and we face years without any success. I have zero confidence in the RFU getting it right. https://t.co/IxR4AwWm2Y
— Philip West (@Philip_RJ89) November 3, 2019
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.
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Comments on RugbyPass
Had hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”
6 Go to commentsWhat was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
28 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
83 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
83 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
4 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
28 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
4 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
4 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
6 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
6 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
6 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
28 Go to comments