DNYUZ
Veteran Australian boss Jones paid the price for presiding over England’s worst year since 2008, the team losing six out of 12 Tests, with five wins and a draw.
He was the second head coach to be fired in 24 hours after Wales replaced Wayne Pivac with predecessor Warren Gatland.
Jones was contracted to take England through until the end of the 2023 World Cup in France — he guided them to the 2019 final where they were beaten by South Africa — but the RFU has curtailed his seven-year reign.
Steve Borthwick, the former England captain turned boss of Premiership champions Leicester, is the favourite to succeed Jones full time, having been a long-serving deputy to the 62-year-old at both Japan and England.
But the RFU said Tuesday forwards coach Richard Cockerill would take charge of England on an interim basis.
‘Huge contribution’
Jones was proud of England’s achievements during his tenure, saying: “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.”
RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney said: “It’s important to recognise the huge contribution Eddie has made to English rugby, winning three Six Nations, one Grand Slam and taking us to a World Cup final.”
Jones’ future was in the balance following a recent Autumn series where a lone win over Japan and fortunate draw with New Zealand were bookended by defeats by Argentina and South Africa.
The RFU then called in an anonymous panel to review the Autumn campaign — standard procedure after all major series — but it was clear Jones’ job was on the line despite a 76 percent win rate as England coach.
The panel’s findings paved the way for the RFU board to confirm Jones’ exit on Tuesday.
But the governing body were tight-lipped about Jones’ permanent replacement ahead of England’s Six Nations opener at home to Scotland on February 4, saying only that changes would be announced in the “near future”.
