EDDIE COULD STAY WITH ENGLAND UNTIL 2023
Brit wins at a sprint
EDDIE JONES may agree to remain in charge of England through to the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Jones is contracted until the summer of 2021, but sources have told Sportsmail that the RFU may now have a chance to retain the Australian. It is understood there is a clause in Jones’s contract which states he can be removed if England fail to reach the semi-final at this year’s World Cup in Japan. However, in the event of a semi-final place being achieved, it is possible he will stay until the next World Cup in France in 2023. That scenario is dependent on various factors. At a time when the RFU’s plan for finding a successor to Jones is under scrutiny amid fears that the process is being botched, the new chief executive at Twickenham, Bill Sweeney, could be handed an unexpected reprieve if Jones stays on. Sweeney has only recently taken up his post but is already being urged to address the thorny issue of senior England players’ punishing workload, by considering what amounts to a partial central contract system. Jones is enthused by the vision of a protracted
KYLE Edmund has been kitted out in a floral printed shirt for his French Open campaign but there was nothing flowery about his performance at Roland Garros yesterday.
Resuming at 5-5 in a deciding set against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, his clinical progress to the second round took about the same time as it might to brew a pot of tea.
Leaping out of the traps, he needed only seven minutes to complete a 7-6, 5-7, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 win that had been suspended at 9.22pm the previous evening and spanned more than four hours.
He will now face experienced uruguayan clay- courter Pablo Cuevas, the world no 47, as the only British man left in the singles draw, and Jo Konta plays later today against American Lauren davis. It was a dramatic way for Edmund to snap what had become a slightly alarming five- match losing streak on a surface that suits him. The victory was sealed when he held serve and then broke his opponent to 15.
‘It had been a marathon but this was like almost a sprint,’ said the 24-year- old Yorkshireman, who had a fitful six-hour sleep overnight. ‘my aim was just to come out really firing and impose myself on him.
‘I liked that I was serving first and knew that just getting to love-15 on his serve would automatically create pressure.’
It was an excellent performance and an improvement on the past month. The reasons for that were more prosaic than the new shirt, which has a white version that includes pictures of skeletons as a nod to the French revolution.
‘I had a really good training week last week, probably the best I’ve had in a long time. That helped make me confident.
‘ I wouldn’t personally pick flowers for my shirt but I’ve had some pink kits and bright yellow ones, so this one isn’t too bad.’
dan Evans declared his goal is to make Wimbledon’s second week for the first time after he put up impressive resistance before losing 6-3, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2 to 23rd seed Fernando Verdasco.
The 29-year-old midlander will be in the best physical shape of his life going into the grass-court season.
‘my goal is to go pretty far in Wimbledon. It’s not to just go there and turn up and win a match. It’s to win a few. Three or four matches would be great,’ said Evans.
British no 2 Cam norrie had a dire day, losing 6-3, 6-0, 6-2 to little-known French qualifier Elliot Benchetrit.