Mitchell keen to stay with England

Mitchell, who applied for the England head coach job in 2015 before Eddie Jones was appointed, was initially regarded as a short-term hire, with his contract due to expire at the end of the World Cup.

Jones was attracted to Mitchell’s wealth of experience in senior coaching positions, including forwards coach with Clive Woodward’s England team in 1997-2000 and head coach of the All Blacks in 2001-03.

However, when asked yesterday whether he would be interested in staying on given the relationship he has struck with the England players, Mitchell said: ‘‘What you are saying is a nice thing to think about and clearly I have got to think about my family.

‘‘At this moment in time I am just really enjoying playing a part and making sure that I am doing my job. That is my most critical focus. There is an ultimate goal at the end of the year. I am sure that if I do my job all those other things will take care of themselves.’’

Jones, too, was originally contracted until the Rugby World Cup but recently re-signed with the Rugby Association until 2021.