Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SWEENEY TAKES IT STEADY WITH EDDIE
RFU chief Bill won’t be rushed into deciding whether to extend Jones’ England contract
EDDIE JONES’ boss says he will not be rushed into extending the Australian’s contract through to the next Rugby World Cup.
The England head coach received an emphatic vote of confidence from his squad in an “overwhelmingly positive” review into the nation’s march to last month’s World Cup final in Japan.
But, six weeks after saying it “made sense” to extend Jones’ current deal – which runs until August 2021 – through to the end of the 2023 tournament in France, Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney seemed in less of a hurry to do so.
Sweeney said: “Eddie has done a great job, a really good job.
“If you look at where we were when he came in, he’s done an outstanding job.
“But we’ll look at all the various pros and cons and make a decision on what is in the best interests of England rugby, going forward.
“It needs to work for both sides for it to be absolutely right. If it’s the right thing for him to stay, then it’ll go that way. If there are any reasons why not, it’ll go that way.”
Interestingly, Sweeney (below) referenced New Zealand’s decision to offer Ian Foster, their new head coach, only a two-year deal.
He also pointed out that Rassie Erasmus masterminded
England’s World Cup final downfall after just 18 months in the South Africa hot-seat.
“At this stage, why would you do that now?” he asked, in reference to rushing to put a new four-year contract on the table.
“I read a lot of the media at the moment and the camp is pretty split. There’s a lot of people saying don’t rush into anything and a lot of people saying it should be a four-year deal.
“Is it better to have someone in there for the four-year period leading up to the World Cup?
“It may well be more stability, but I wouldn’t say there is a date in the diary when we have to make a decision otherwise we’re not going to be ready for France. Eddie has stated very clearly that he’s committed to seeing his contract out, so there’s no looming deadline.”
Sweeney said that Jones, who is currently away in Japan, would appoint an attack coach to replace Australia-bound Scott Wisemantel in time for England’s Six Nations campaign. He added that he expected Leicester target Steve Borthwick to remain in his role as forwards coach until the end of the championship.