England target Gatland, Schmidt to follow Jones
Coaches from rival home unions are ‘not off limits’
Warren Gatland and Joe Schmidt are in the frame to succeed Eddie Jones as England head coach.
The Rugby Football Union has confirmed it has already begun a recruitment process to identify potential candidates to ensure there is a proper succession plan in place for when Jones steps down.
The Australian signed a twoyear extension in January to stay in the role until 2021 but his contract will be terminated if England do not meet the RFU’s performance target at next year’s World Cup in Japan.
The RFU is determined to have a plan in place for either scenario and significantly Steve Brown, the governing body’s chief executive, said that the head coaches of rival home unions were “not off limits”.
Top of the RFU’s criteria are head coaches with proven success on the international stage and Gatland and Schmidt, whose contracts expire after the World Cup, would be considered strong contenders for the position.
Schmidt coached Ireland to the Grand Slam this season while Gatland masterminded the British and Irish Lions’ drawn series against the All Blacks last year and has coached Wales to three Six Nations titles, including two Grand Slams.
Very competitive
Asked if there was a gentlemen’s agreement in place to not go after rival home union coaches, Brown said: “No, that doesn’t exist. Half of the tier-one coaches changed at the last World Cup and most of them were northern hemisphere, so they are going to go in different directions.
“It’s pretty competitive, so no one’s off limits. It’s all to do with whether they fit the profile and the criteria that we’re looking for. Whilst we would love to have an English head coach eventually, our priority is still to get the best coach for England.”
When asked if someone such as Gatland, who also guided the Lions to a Test series victory over Australia in 2013, would come under consideration, Brown said: “We’re not precluding anyone from the list.
“But what we’re not going to do is to upset another union. We are going to be respectful of those arrangements, as we would expect others to do with us.”
Interestingly, Brown said the RFU was also putting a plan together to increase the chances of an English coach who is in an international set-up, but not a head coach, succeeding Jones.
Brown said that if Jones, who is involved in the succession plan, remains in place for two years after the World Cup, his successor could be sent on a sabbatical for two years with a tier-two country such as Georgia to gain international headcoach experience.
That would bring Andy Farrell, who was appointed as Ireland’s defence coach within three weeks of losing his job with England in December 2015, into strong consideration.
Farrell, who also has experience with the Lions on the 2013 and 2017 tours, has played a key role in Ireland’s rise to second in the World Rugby rankings.