RFU chief Bill Sweeney lifts lid on sacking Eddie Jones
Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney has admitted it would be no surprise to see Eddie Jones working at next year’s World Cup but is at peace with the decision to replace the Australian with Steve Borthwick.
Borthwick was confirmed as Jones’ successor at Twickenham on Monday and is tasked with rebuilding morale of the 2019 World Cup runners-up, who have struggled for results during the past 12 months.
It was England’s form in 2022, their worst in terms of results in 14 years, that saw Jones dismissed earlier than expected by the RFU after an anonymous panel of experts had reviewed the underwhelming Autumn Nations series.
Jones has made no secret of his desire to quickly return to work and has been linked with a second spell with Australia, who could meet England in the last eight of the 2023 World Cup.
“I’d be amazed if he wasn’t there (at the World Cup),” Sweeney admitted. “Does he go there (Australia) as a consultant, does he go to the US, to Japan, I don’t know.
“We are confident with Steve and Kevin (Sinfield) and whatever coaching team he puts around him. I’m sure he’ll get the best out of that England team and if that’s how it is in the quarter-final, then it will be a great day.
“We still think we’ve got time for the World Cup. We’ve got a great squad of players there. The beauty of Steve coming in is that he was here 2015 to 2020, he knows a lot of those players already.
“He knows the style of play he wants to have, so, on balance, between those two we believed it was the right decision to be made then.”
Despite Jones presiding over a sharp decline in form since England made the World Cup final three years ago, eyebrows have been raised at the decision of the RFU to dismiss the 62-year-old.
Jones’ record at World Cups had long been used as a reason to stick with a figure who polarises opinion, but Sweeney admitted they could not see results improving.
He insisted: “With a disappointing Six Nations, we then went to Australia, not an easy place to win a series, came back with a 2-1 from that and we are looking again at that parallel with 2018 thinking ‘right, the autumn is where we want to kick on and show some momentum going into 2023’, but it just didn’t happen that way.
“It just didn’t seem to be clicking. Eddie had a very clear strategy about how he wanted to play. He was talking about different styles of play, combining classic English set-piece with a more expansive role, but it just wasn’t happening.”
Sweeney rejected suggestions his relationship with Jones had become strained and insisted the players still liked the former England head coach but hinted his focus drifted too far away from the short term.
“There was absolutely no breakdown in relationship with Eddie,” Sweeney added.
“We spoke to a lot of the players. Eddie is a competitor, he’s passionate. He likes that squad and he’s got a good relationship with that squad. The players generally like him. He would have wanted to have carried on through to the World Cup in 2023.
“The results consistently were less than expected in the last 12 months. We clearly came out with the point of view that we weren’t convinced it was going to get better.
“Most conversations with Eddie tend to revolve around World Cups but I can tell you he didn’t want to perform badly in the Six Nations.
“And those three Six Nations wins and one grand slam meant a lot to him. Maybe something got lost in the narrative there. You’ve got to be competitive in the Six Nations, not just every four years at a World Cup.”
Sweeney revealed his first conversation with Leicester over hiring Borthwick occurred in August with the then-Tigers director of rugby earmarked to replace Jones after the World Cup.
With the process accelerated, the RFU chief is confident the new man in post at Twickenham can enjoy a successful 2023.
He added: “Getting Steve in, getting Kevin in, getting whatever coaching set-up Steve wants to go for, we think this is a really exciting time.
“The first thing we’re not going to do is say ‘oh and by the way, here’s a target for the 23 World Cup’.
“This is a long-term rebuild. I think we’ve got a fantastic squad of players, I think we’ll be very competitive at the World Cup, but we won’t say ‘this is what defines success’.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Irish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
4 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
4 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to comments