Eddie Jones has been fired, leaving England without a head coach nine months before the Rugby World Cup.
The interim leadership of the team will be assumed by the forward’s coach, Richard Cockerill.
Jones leaves following a terrible 2022, in which he won only five of twelve Tests.
The 62-year-old won three Six Nations titles and guided the team to the 2019 World Cup final, where they were defeated by South Africa.
The dismissal of Jones follows a review of England’s dismal autumn campaign, in which they won only one of four matches.
The Australian stated, “I am delighted with much of what we have accomplished as an England team and I look forward to future performances.”
Many of the players and I will remain in contact, and I wish them all the best in their future careers.
Bill Sweeney, chief executive officer of the Rugby Football Union, lauded Jones’ “great contribution” to English rugby.
Sweeney stated, “He has the highest win percentage of any past England head coach and has helped numerous players and coaches enhance their leadership qualities.”
“I am grateful to Eddie for everything he has done for England in numerous facets of the game, as well as his professional approach to evaluating the team’s performance.
“He has offered the panel insightful observations and valuable insights that will boost the team’s future performance.”
A full-time appointment is expected to be announced by the RFU shortly, bringing to a close the RFU’s long-term work on coach succession planning.
On February 4, 2023, England will host Scotland in the opening round of the Six Nations. The France-hosted World Cup begins in September.
Former RFU director and England fly-half Rob Andrew stated, “It’s probably not what the RFU intended to achieve at this time of the World Cup cycle.”
“However, it has been done previously, so it is not uncommon. South Africa between 1995 and 2019 Both won the World Cup and changed coaches 12 months before the tournament.
“Andy Robinson resigned after the Autumn internationals of 2006, and Brian Ashton succeeded him to lead England to the 2007 World Cup final.
“It’s maybe not how you’d want to manage a World Cup campaign, but if you believe it’s in the best interests of the team, then that’s how the RFU now feels.
“This was one of those times when you must pick whether to stick or twist, and they chose to twist.”
Borthwick is among the candidates to lead
While the RFU had initially anticipated that an English coach would succeed Jones, CEO Bill Sweeney stated earlier this month that another foreign coach is a possibility.
However, former Irish fly-half and current head coach of French club La Rochelle, Ronan O’Gara, has ruled himself out of contention, and Warren Gatland, who has coached the British and Irish Lions on their last three tours, returned to Wales on Monday.
Steve Borthwick of Leicester, who worked as England forwards coach under Jones from 2016 to 2019, is the main domestic candidate, while Alex Sanderson of Sale is a fringe possibility.
Borthwick was scheduled to hold a news conference in Leicester on Tuesday, but this has been rescheduled for Friday.
“Borthwick has likely been at the top of the list for some time. The question is when “added Andrew.
“They’ll either have resolved it and make an announcement within the next 24 hours, they’ll still be considering it, or Steve will want to join the team a year before the World Cup.
“There will be a million and one discussions, but it’s very obvious that I believe Steve Borthwick will be the next in line”
After England was eliminated in the group stage of their 2015 home World Cup, Jones took over as manager and won his first 17 matches in charge.
This includes a Grand Slam in his first Six Nations campaign, a successful championship defense, and a series sweep over the Wallabies in Australia in his debut series.
His team defeated the two-time defending champions New Zealand in the semi-final of the 2019 World Cup but was defeated by South Africa in the final.
A dismal run of form has crushed Jones’s ambitions of leading England to a second World Cup.
England won only one of their four autumn Tests, a comfortable triumph over Japan, and was jeered by some supporters after their last loss to South Africa.
The RFU began a review the next day, stating that “results did not meet our expectations.”
Jones leaves England with a higher percentage of Test victories than any of his predecessors, 73%.
‘Hard taskmaster’
Lewis Moody, a former England captain, told: “The quantity of people changes in the backroom, whether it be coaches, physios, or performance personnel, blew my mind.
“So it appeared to me that Eddie was no longer able to recruit the individuals he desired behind the scenes.
“There have been rumors that Eddie is a demanding taskmaster. He has high expectations, which is commendable, but it appears that some of these high expectations have pushed individuals away and have been difficult to meet.
“It put him in a position where he could not hire the individuals he truly required and desired. This essentially rendered his position untenable, resulting in his dismissal.”
Chris Jones, a correspondent for rugby union
Eddie Jones arrived at Twickenham with much hoopla at the end of 2015 as England’s first foreign coach, with a solid track record at the international level and a mandate to return English rugby to the top table of the sport.
His reign began beautifully with 17 consecutive victories and two Six Nations titles. In 2019, Jones nearly completed the extraordinary turnaround when his side fell in the World Cup final, with England’s semi-final annihilation of New Zealand being perhaps their greatest performance.
But England has suffered since that night in Yokohama, and despite much talk of transition and progress, the team has stagnated or even regressed this year; the coach and Union’s fixation with the World Cup has had a negative effect.
While Richard Cockerill will take over temporarily, Steve Borthwick of Leicester is expected to be the RFU’s long-term replacement for Jones.
